UK green economy has failed to grow since 2014, official figures show
The UK’s low-carbon and renewable energy economy has failed to grow since 2014, according to official data showing a fall in the number of green jobs.
In a blow to the government’s pledge to boost net-zero employment opportunities, the Office for National Statistics said its latest figures, covering 2020, showed “no significant change” in turnover and job numbers in the sector compared with six years earlier.
Employment in the low-carbon and renewable energy economy – which includes manufacturing, energy supply and construction – fell by about 28,000 across the UK over the period, to just 207,800. Among the steepest declines were in factories producing energy-efficient products, onshore wind, and solar energy.
Trade unions raised questions over the government’s plan to boost Britain’s low-carbon economy after years of limited progress. Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, said the UK had an opportunity to be a pioneer on the path to net zero. “But we will miss out on these opportunities if ministers do not step up public investment and action. And we could see existing jobs lost to other countries who modernise their industry faster.”
Although the latest snapshot includes the first year of the coronavirus pandemic – when the British economy plunged into the deepest recession for 100 years – the figures show that in 2019, before the health emergency struck, green business turnover also fell compared with a year earlier.
According to the latest data, the sector with the largest growth in jobs was in low-emission vehicles and infrastructure, where employment more than doubled to 19,100. However, this wasn’t enough to offset bigger falls elsewhere, including a decline of more than a quarter, or 32,000, in the number of
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