Will the PM’s net zero strategy really create ‘good jobs, green jobs, well-paid jobs’?
Boris Johnson claims his plans to cut carbon emissions will help create 440,000 jobs by 2030
“We can build back greener, without so much as a hair shirt in sight.” So said the Prime Minister, in his typically ebullient introduction to the Government’s strategy for reaching net-zero greenhouse emissions.
On the one hand, we should be glad that the Government has finally published the plan, said Andrew Grice in The Independent. The bad news is that it is light on detail, and heavily reliant on Boris Johnson’s trademark “it will be all right on the night” approach.
He promises that the target can be achieved by promoting the development of wind power, hydrogen power, electric vehicles, and carbon capture and storage. These initiatives will transform the economy, he says, and help create 440,000 jobs by 2030; and by 2050, “in every part of our United Kingdom, there will be jobs. Good jobs, green jobs, well-paid jobs, levelling up our country while squashing down our carbon emissions.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
This is the “holy grail” of climate action, said Philippa Nuttall in the New Statesman: managing the transition to net zero in such a way that new jobs and industries spring up to replace those lost as a result of the decarbonising process. But is this something the UK is well-placed to navigate?
I don’t see why not, said Stephen Pollard in the Daily Express. We have a strong “science base” in this country, and our Covid vaccine success shows what we can achieve when our world-leading researchers collaborate with industry. We just need to put more money into research and development.
The transition to a low-carbon economy will certainly generate new employment opportunities, said Sarah O’Connor in the FT, but not all of these “green” jobs will be that desirable, or boost productivity. Recycling is a case in point: the “rate of fatal injuries in the waste and recycling sector is 17 times higher than the average across all industries”.
And though insulating lofts will require lots of labour, said Emma Duncan in The Times, these will be unskilled jobs involving a one-off effort. As for the idea that we can create a mass of new jobs from manufacturing wind turbines and other green equipment, experience suggests we’ll always struggle to compete with low-cost labour in Asia. Yes, our researchers may devise “whizzo, as-yet-unimagined technologies” to help turn the PM’s “hot air into electricity”, but even that’s unlikely to generate many jobs outside the Southeast.
If the Government is taking climate change more seriously, that’s a good thing, but make no mistake: the path to net zero, on which we have barely embarked, will be tough. We’re not about “to launch ourselves into a shiny, green, high-tech future”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 cleverly clashing cartoons about the presidential debate
Cartoons Artists take on a deepfake debate, winners and losers, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Pélicot case: a horror exposed
Talking Point This case is unusually horrifying, but the misogyny that enabled is chillingly common
By The Week UK Published
-
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: pure 'nostalgia bait'
Talking Point Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder return for sequel to the 1988 cult classic
By The Week UK Published
-
The Grenfell report: who was at fault?
The Explainer The inquiry into Britain's worst residential fire since the Blitz has taken seven years, and uncovered an extraordinary range of failings
By The Week UK Published
-
Can Germany's far-right win across the country?
Today's Big Question A startling AfD triumph in eastern Germany's regional elections lays bare the fragility of the country's mismatched coalition goverment
By The Week UK Published
-
Who will be the next Tory leader?
In Depth Race for the leadership will intensify this week as hopefuls face first vote
By The Week UK Last updated
-
The polycrisis facing the Pacific Islands
Under the Radar Leaders will address the region's struggles with climate change, drug trafficking and geopolitical influence during this week's Pacific Islands Forum
By Abby Wilson Published
-
Tommy Robinson: the voice of Britain's far-right
The Explainer The best-known figure on the UK’s extreme-right has been accused of playing a part in inciting the recent riots
By The Week UK Published
-
'Will parents of people who struggle with being different at last find a powerful advocate?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Thailand: heading for a 'political inferno'?
Talking Points Hopes of change fading as establishment moves to dismantle reformist Move Forward party
By The Week UK Published
-
Venezuela votes: 'the mother of all stolen elections'
Talking Points Nicolás Maduro has pulled off a breath-taking steal at the ballot box, but his power increasingly relies on foreign allies
By The Week UK Published