Ed Miliband wrong to say Net Zero will boost jobs, says Tony Blair’s think-tank_Nhy
Ed Miliband’s plans to bet everything on green growth would be a mistake, Sir Tony Blair’s think tank has warned.
In a new report, the former Labour Prime Minister’s Institute for Global Change (TBI) warns that the number of jobs created could be far fewer than promised.
It undermines the claims of the Energy Secretary that net zero will produce hundreds of thousands of industrial jobs.
Instead, it states: ‘On current trends, the green economy is more likely to reach just 1.6 per cent of GDP by 2050, employing only 350,000 people – barely enough to offset the decline in carbon-intensive “grey” industries.
‘Betting everything on green growth would therefore be a mistake. It must be a pillar of the UK’s growth strategy, but it cannot be the whole strategy.’
It added that to succeed, the UK should not ‘skew its strategy too heavily towards “green”’ because it is unlikely to revive manufacturing jobs and reverse the long-term decline of British industry.
‘The Government must be careful not to over-state the job opportunities from green manufacturing,’ it adds.
In its election manifesto, Labour promised a ‘Green Prosperity Plan’ that ‘will create 650,000 jobs across the country by 2030’.
Ed Miliband’s plans to bet everything on green growth would be a mistake, Sir Tony Blair ’s think tank has warned (File image)
Yet the report states that unless there is significant government support and favourable market conditions, just 330,000 jobs could be created by 2050.
This is less than half the 700,000 who at present work in oil and gas and other ‘grey’ industries.
In a best-case scenario of taxpayer investment of an additional £56billion over the next decade, some £1.2million jobs could exist by 2050, the report states.
But if no more money is put in, a maximum of 425,000 jobs could be created in the UK by the middle of the next decade.
The report also suggests that half of the new potential jobs would come from green finance, and almost all of them would be in London.
‘The Government must be careful not to overstate the job opportunities from green manufacturing,’ the TBI’s report said.
The authors urge ministers to align more closely with the EU on energy and climate policies to reduce regulation.
The report also questions the Labour Party’s manifesto commitment of £3billion to a green-steel fund, noting that ‘despite generous government support, the UK’s two major remaining blast-furnace sites are uneconomic.’
It adds: ‘Is such a substantial intervention for an uneconomic sector justified?’
TBI Director of Economic Policy, Tom Smith said: ‘For too long, UK industrial strategy has been plagued by zigzag policymaking and poor execution, with strategies barely outlasting the political cycle.
The new report undermines the claims of the Energy Secretary that net zero will produce hundreds of thousands of industrial jobs (File image)
‘The government must break this cycle with a hard-headed plan that investors can trust – a plan that confronts difficult trade-offs, makes bold strategic choices and acts with urgency.
‘The stakes are high, and so are the opportunities. As other countries race ahead, the UK must carve out a strategy that plays to its unique strengths – or risk falling behind.’
A Government spokesman said: ‘The clean energy transition is the economic opportunity of the 21st century.
‘Our clean power mission will replace our dependency on unstable fossil fuel markets with homegrown clean power controlled in Britain – and create a new generation of good jobs across the country.’
