New government can make UK a global leader in green jobs, says TUC

22 July 2016

The TUC is today (Friday) publishing a new report outlining how the UK can undergo a clean energy transition to create high-quality jobs and secure a major share of the future clean energy industry, which is estimated to be worth $500bn globally.

The report, Powering Ahead: How UK industry can match Europe’s environmental leaders, examines how countries like Denmark and Germany have forged ahead in the global race to deliver an economy driven by renewable energy.

The TUC argues that government support for new low-carbon industries – both those generating and using low-carbon power – should be targeted to communities that have lost their livelihoods with the demise of heavy industry, and at workers whose livelihoods are at risk from the change to a low-carbon UK economy.

The TUC’s other recommendations include:

·    A roadmap for a sustainable industrial strategy to get to 50% of UK energy from renewables by 2050.

·    A government agency to fund advanced energy research projects (similar to the ARPA-E in the US).

·    Government support for major new projects, including the next generation of nuclear power stations, a demonstration carbon capture and storage plant, and public procurement support for offshore wind.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Greg Clark’s new department must seize the opportunity and use green tech to deliver great new jobs. Combining climate change and industrial policy in one department is an opportunity to get a share of the $500bn renewable energy industry for the UK.

“As energy from oil and coal gets more expensive, manufacturing firms will instead invest in countries with a plentiful supply of low-carbon energy. So the government must put investment in low-carbon industry at the heart of its new industrial strategy. And it must focus that investment on towns that have lost their heavy industry, where decent jobs are still in short supply.”

NOTES TO EDITORS:

- The full TUC report Powering Ahead: How UK industry can match Europe’s environmental leaders can be found at www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/Powering_Ahead_Report.pdf

- All TUC press releases can be found at www.tuc.org.uk

- Follow the TUC on Twitter: @The_TUC and follow the TUC press team @tucnews