Liz Young

Dr Liz Young is a Principal Research Fellow at the Centre for Policy Futures within the Faculty of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Queensland and serves as Research Director of the Queensland Decarbonisation Hub. She leads collaborative initiatives connecting universities, industry, communities, First Nations peoples, and government to co-create knowledge and accelerate Queensland's clean growth future through strategic climate action.

Her academic credentials include a PhD in Political Science and an Executive Master of Public Administration from ANZSOG.

Liz specializes in climate transitions, sectoral decarbonisation, and policy innovation, leveraging 20+ years of Queensland Government experience including senior leadership in environmental planning, climate adaptation, and protected areas strategy. Her research bridges public policy and academic scholarship through co-produced knowledge frameworks, institutional reform, and just transition pathways for economically sensitive sectors.

Her scientific recognition includes the Australian Parliamentary Fellowship.

Available for research supervision, Liz has shaped landmark policy instruments including Queensland's Clean Economy Jobs Bill (establishing 2035/2050 emissions targets), bioregional planning frameworks, and sustainability strategies for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. Her advisory work focuses on decision-making under uncertainty in contested policy environments.

At the Queensland Decarbonisation Hub, she co-leads sector planning initiatives identifying practical decarbonisation pathways across key industries through government-industry-research partnerships.