Victoria environmental expert to advise Government

MEDIA RELEASE

Victoria environmental expert to advise Government

Associate Professor Ralph Chapman has been appointed to a group of experts who will advise the Government on transport fuels, renewable electricity and vehicle technologies.

Announced this week by the Energy Minister David Parker, the new "Vehicle Energy and Renewables Group" is a result of the New Zealand Energy Strategy which proposed bringing experts together to consider the implications of increasing the use of bio-fuels beyond 2012 and the introduction of plug-in electric vehicles.

Dr Chapman, Director of Environmental Studies in the School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences in one of nine industry and research experts in the group who will be responsible for promoting the use of renewable energy in transport, particularly in the areas of electric vehicles and bio-fuels.

Hon. David Parker says the combined expertise of the group will go a long way towards ensuring New Zealand's transport system steps up its use of renewable resources and decreases its reliance on fossil fuels.

He says that one of the immediate issues the group will consider is how to help New Zealand become one of the first countries in the world to widely deploy electric vehicles.

Dr Chapman's current areas of research interest include those in climate change policy, transport, energy, housing, heating and health, and comparative environmental policy and performance.
He has been a member of several OECD environmental performance review teams, examining OECD member country environmental policy and results.

The members of the group, to meet at least three times a year, are:

David Baldwin (Chair), Contact Energy; K.J Kells, Meridian Energy; Ralph Chapman, Victoria University; Tim Jones, Sustainable Energy Forum; Mike Noon, New Zealand Automobile Association; John Leighton, Mitsubishi Motors; Ian Brooks, New Zealand Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership and Zero Emissions Limited; Vicki Buck, Celsias and Aquaflow; and Ian Macrae, Page & Macrae Engineering and financier of the successful Waikato University UltraCommuter electric car that competed in the green-fleet class of the World Solar Challenge in October last year.

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