From Covid19 to Climate20

Climate change is a crisis in waiting. It comes on the heels of Covid19. 11000 people die of atmospheric pollution each year. In the UK and during the lockdown the sky was bluer and birdsong more evident.

Roads and trains were no longer crammed at rush hour. The vapour trails vanished and the roar of planes was hushed.

We began to see what climate control measures might look like.

Our experience of Covid19 offers us an opportunity to harness the capability of the nation to take huge steps in reducing the climate effects on our civilisation.

We have learned that when the imperative is life-threatening then we can harness the skills of scientists, engineers, companies and drive in Westminster and Whitehall to achieve great things.

This essay is going to look at some of the ideas that spring to mind.

Back into the air

In less than a year, all British commercial aircraft could be fitted with new none-polluting engines. Hundreds of planes are parked up around the country. There is a need to get them back in business. A conglomerate of financial, engineering, and academic investors supported by the government to remove roadblocks on the way just needs to be driven to succeed in weeks not years.

It may be hydrogen engines or some other technology but is needed as urgently as a Coronavirus vaccine.  There are hundreds of planes that need such engines. Retrofitting them will be a big challenge but the advantages are clear. People all around the world can elect to fly ‘green’.  Our mothballed aircraft fleet can get back in business and turn a disadvantage into new wealth creation.




Every aircraft fleet in the world would, in due course, need conversion and new planes fitted with these engines too. This is an economic driver that we need for our engineering sector. It would help fire-up the economy too.

We are going to need more jobs, more electricity, more factories and more houses.

We need more electricity and we need to be able to store it.

Getting roofs to work

The solution to one could be the solution to the others.

Perhaps it should be mandatory for every new roof and wall to have solar panels as part of the initial specification. No ifs, no buts, no delays. Just do it. It does not cost the exchequer a dime. It is a cost in the purchase of the property and generates power and associated wealth.



Factories and warehouses have huge roofs that are not used to help the economy or reduce damage to the climate. Fitting solar cells on such buildings could be a big employment creation programme. By tieing Corona19 subsidies to the reduction of energy pollution, there can be enough incentive to provide a huge benefit to the economy and power resource.

Solar and wind power is erratic and often generates electricity when it cannot be used. We know the solution. It is in a new generation of batteries.

So far there is not a suitable, none polluting (in production and in application),  battery available.  It is time to get back to financial, engineering and academic investors supported by the government to remove roadblocks and make very high spec battery development and deployment a priority.

Boats and trains and things

Of course, there is a need for complementary applied R&D for developing power packs for ships, lorries, trains, agricultural machinery, and other power-hungry activities. 

Hydrogen and/or batteries can step in and fill the gap. This calls for parallel development and as much urgency. 

The development of electric cars is well underway.  There is still a need for greater optimisation of batteries for cars but the technology already needs to be adopted faster.

It is time that the conversion of internal combustion engines to electric traction was simplified. There is a massive world market for such capabilities. There will be a need to examine the legal and regulatory environments and the technical issues also need to be resolved. Every vehicle service business should be able to learn how to convert at a reasonable cost. Should the cost per mile make conversion viable, this will be a great advance in reducing motor pollution.

To help reduce congestion, pollution and noise, electric-powered mopeds should help. This is an initiative already in process.

Plastics are a pain. 

The none degradable nature of it is one of the big pollutants in the world.

There are many substitutes that can replace plastic from bottles to sponges, ropes to top fashions materials and fisherman’s nets. These substitutes are bio-degradable, super-performing and cheaper than many of the materials generally in use today.

The big problem is in getting them to the end-user. From fashion to building bricks, there is a need to replace the present materials.

A rule that all none degradable materials should carry a significant None Degradeable Badge (NDB) is a way of both taxing the use of polluting materials and a warning for consumers. Consumer pressure will be a powerful dynamic for change.

It would seem there is a lot that can be done.