UH Energy continued its Critical Issues in Energy Symposium Series with “The Future of Mobility Promises and Bottlenecks,” which centered on an insightful discussion centered on challenges and opportunities to advance sustainable, affordable and universally accessible transportation.

Margaret Kidd, associate instructional professor and director of the Supply Chain and Logistics Technology Program (undergraduate) at the University of Houston served as moderator. Panelists included Ben Shapiro, manager of the carbon-free transportation team at Rocky Mountain Institute; Mary Holing, vice president of transportation electrification at Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator; and Catherine McCreight – director of transportation planning at the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).

Transportation is one of the leading emitters of greenhouse gases and efforts to decarbonize all sectors of this industry are underway. However, there are issues to address, such as supply chain considerations and financial and regulatory oversight.

“There’s a lot of work to be done in this sector, and it’s an exciting time to be working on all of this and thinking about how we can move people and goods around in a cleaner and more efficient way,” Holing said. “We have the resources in place to continue making those investments, but we have no time to waste when it comes to reducing emissions and transportation is such a large part of that equation. We have the funding available, we have the policies at our fingertips, but now it’s time for the rubber to meet the road.”

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