NOVEMBER 2019
Given the global scale and
impact of the COVID-19
pandemic, the UK
Government’s decision to
postpone COP26 was
inevitable. But even in the
throes of this global health crisis,
we must not lose sight of the
longer-term threat to humanity
from climate change, or the
government’s target of achieving
net zero emissions by 2050. While
we are in the process of addressing
this particular pandemic we should
also reflect early and often, taking
an objective view on what we are
learning along the way, and apply
this to the global climate challenge.
COVID-19 has already taught
the world many lessons, not least
exposing our essential
infrastructure and its myriad
interdependencies to scrutiny.
While we have not yet seen this
crisis play out, it has demonstrated
how quickly government, academia
and industry can collaborate with
common purpose to address
challenges and solve problems
during a global emergency. I hope
we can learn from our rapid
behavioural, cultural and economic
evolution in the face of a global
pandemic and bring the same spirit
of unity and action to the ongoing
task of tackling climate change.
Indeed, engineers have a vital
role to play in creating systems and
solutions to address both COVID-19
and the climate crisis. Government
faces challenges across many
sectors that have engineering at
their heart. Reaching net zero
means the government needs to act
with more urgency on critical
issues like decarbonising homes.
This is a difficult challenge that will
impact us all but, like many of the
challenges arising from climate
action, it also creates opportunities:
to build better homes that are
warmer, cheaper and more energy
efficient, reducing fuel poverty and
winter deaths. This must remain
high on the agenda for government
and engineers must be among
those informing government
decision-making on how we reach
The lessons learned
from COVID-19
can help us address
the climate crisis
net zero, to provide expertise and to
galvanise action.
I have been promoting
decarbonisation for 30 years, as
well as working to redesign and
innovate the architecture of our
power systems. We are now at a
point where we have the technical
capability to address the global
climate challenge, but that
challenge is now very real. So we
must go beyond the rhetoric of
decarbonisation being a good thing
to do – it is what we must do. With
the UK and Scottish governments
both committed to net zero targets,
I am confident that we can now
focus on moving quickly to action.
Engineering will be at the heart of
that.
As we work towards restarting
our economy, we have an excellent
opportunity to reassess our goals as
a society and to redouble our efforts
to drive low-carbon innovation and
create sustainable businesses. The
recovery package that will surely
follow must be ambitious: not just
July 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk 18
aiming to recreate business-asusual,
but actively working to
achieve our goal of a net-zero
economy.
The National Engineering
Policy Centre has assembled a
diverse and accomplished group of
engineering experts to offer regular
advice to government on how to
achieve Net Zero by 2050. They will
be providing evidence-based
advice, identifying actions that can
be taken now and in the future,
from replacing or retrofitting
heating systems to decarbonising
transport systems and addressing
energy-intensive industry. They are
here to provide evidence and advice
that will empower government to
make bold and difficult decisions
now that will protect our planet for
society at large and, most
importantly, for future generations.
While 2050 still seems like a
far-off date, current projections
suggest that the UK is not currently
on track to meet its emissions
targets. The next 30 years will
AS WE WORK TOWARDS RESTARTING OUR
ECONOMY WE HAVE AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY
TO REASSESS OUR GOALS AS A SOCIETY
surely be interrupted by other
crises, not least climate-related
ones including extreme weather
events like the flooding that beset
many regions of the UK earlier this
year. Increasing global
temperatures are likely to elevate
the risk of such weather events,
requiring infrastructure
adaptations to protect people from
increased heat, rain or wind. We
need to be prepared for this
eventuality.
As engineers we are used to
solving complex problems every
day. We routinely study the
interconnectedness of people and
things and consider whole systems
– where changing one thing here
also impacts people over there.
COVID-19 has lifted the lid on the
system that is our society and
shown us where there is flexibility
and where there is failure. We
cannot fail when addressing
climate change; there is no ‘plan B’.
COVID-19 provides an impetus to
build resilience into our daily lives,
and we have a duty to work together
to enact rapid, vital and
transformative change.
In the past few weeks people
across the UK have drastically
changed the way they behave in
order to keep us all as safe as
possible. We have seen that selfless
acts, personal responsibility and
mass behaviour change are
possible in the national and global
interest. The social distancing
measures may be temporary, but
they offer hope that we can also
make the positive, enduring
behaviour changes necessary to
achieve net zero emissions. I hope
this heralds a new era for
community-led action,
empowering individuals to shape
and change their environment,
with a fresh mandate for engineers
to deploy the technologies and
infrastructure that will lay the
foundations of a truly sustainable
society.
Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE,
President of the Royal Academy of
Engineering
VIEWPOINT
Sir Jim McDonald
/www.theengineer.co.uk