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Government's green jobs failure is letting down the communities Johnson promised to level up

THE government’s green jobs failure is letting down communities that the Prime Minister promised to level up, the TUC warned today.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed today that the number of green jobs is down by more than 30,000 from 2014.

Despite Britain having more than twice the offshore windfarm capacity in 2019 as in 2014, the number of direct jobs supported by the offshore wind sector only grew by 14 per cent. 

The TUC said the figures pre-date the pandemic and do not take into account jobs lost during the crisis.

TUC-commissioned research has shown that over a million green jobs can be created in the next two years if the government fast-tracks investment in the vital green infrastructure Britain needs.

This includes more than 290,000 jobs retrofitting buildings, 24,000 jobs in electric vehicle-charging infrastructure installation, and 35,000 jobs upgrading ports and factories for renewable energy.

The union body warned that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government is letting Britain fall behind other nations.

In this year’s Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak cut funding for green homes and put forward almost no new green investment. 

By contrast, Germany’s recently announced its public investment in green hydrogen is more than 10 times that of Britain, and the European Union has announced a just transition fund of up to €57 billion (£48.5bn).

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Climate action can bring major benefits to us all. New jobs in green industries can help us recover from the pandemic. And it will mean clean air, food security and the restoration of Britain’s forests and wildlife.

“But progress is far too slow. Lots of towns and communities were promised the chance to level up with new jobs in green industries. But Boris Johnson’s government is not delivering.

“There should be a ‘good news’ story to tell. Our research has shown how over a million green jobs can be created in the next two years if the government fast-tracks green investment.”

Ms O’Grady called on the government to come forward with “ambitious plans to show strong leadership” when Britain chairs the COP26 global conference on climate change this year.

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