On Thursday April 14, Etienne Gernez will present his master's thesis in Coastal and Marine Management entitled, An assessment of the environmental impact of cargo transport by road and sea in Iceland. Etienne's thesis advisor is Dr. Hrönn Jörundsdóttir, project manager at Matís Icelandic Food and Biotech R&D. The presentation is open to the public and will take place in the University Centre conference room at 4 pm.

Etienne took a part of his master's studies as a transfer student at the University of Nantes in France. He now works in Norway at Det Norske Veritas.

Abstract:
The environmental impact of cargo transport is qualified and quantified in the Westfjords and Northern regions of Iceland. A simplified Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework [Fet et al., 2000] is applied to 5 transport scenarios: 1 land based scenario reflecting the existing offer in Iceland and 4 maritime alternatives (2 sailing routes, 2 types of ships) [Möller et al., 2010]. Using a statistical energy consumption model[Kristensen, 2010a] and up-to-date emission factor databases[EMEP/EEA, 2009, EMEP/EEA, 2010] we show that the best maritime alternative is the one calling at the harbours of Reykjavík, Ísafjördur and Akureyri, using a Roll On-Roll Off (Ro-Ro) ship. Compared to land-based transport, the Ro-Ro alternative has a lower impact in most categories except those related to NOx and SOx emissions. With monetisation methods used for the internalisation of external costs, we show that a modal shift from land to sea comes as an overall benefit to the Icelandic society. A Net Present Value (NPV) analysis is suggested to improve the economic calculations, as well as a context-based calculation of the value of time. Further possible improvements are advised in the emission inventory and characterisation phases. A final recommendation is issued for future transport policy in Iceland.