The main impact of greening the UK economy will be to transform existing jobs, not destroy them, a new report says.
The biggest challenge will be ensuring that low- and medium-skilled workers can keep up, as most newly created jobs require high skill levels.
The report, from the Resolution Foundation and the London School of Economics, distinguishes between green and brown jobs.
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It found that there are 1.3 million brown workers in the UK who are more vulnerable than others to the transition.
They include truck drivers and energy plant operators who need to learn to drive different types of vehicles and generate different types of electricity.
Workers in green jobs are more than three times as likely to be in high-quality professional jobs than brown workers, the report found.
It said that 83 percent of green jobs were high-quality, compared with 26 percent of brown jobs.
diversity
“The UK’s net-zero transition is already starting to impact the labour market, but more rapid change is expected this decade given the heightened commitment to policy and business strategy,” said Kathleen Henehan, senior research and policy analyst at the Resolution Foundation.
“This has led some to warn that decarbonisation could be as disruptive as deindustrialisation in terms of job destruction.
“There will be some transition to new jobs, but the reality is that most workers will experience a net-zero transition by changing jobs they already do rather than layoffs and entirely new types of jobs.”
The diversity of the workforce also presents challenges. More than 14 percent of white working-age adults have green jobs, compared with 8 percent of black working-age adults.
better work
The authors of the report say policymakers should focus on helping brown-job workers adapt to the change, otherwise the coming revolution will mostly help already highly skilled and well-paid workers.
“Getting a ‘green job’ may lead to higher wages, but it is mainly those with higher skills who are entering these jobs,” Ms Henehan said.
“Instead of focusing on false predictions of mass unemployment, policymakers should prioritize supporting workers to adapt to new technologies and tasks, whether in their current jobs or moving to ‘green’ jobs through upskilling and training.
“This will be key to ensuring that decarbonisation leads to better jobs and pays for as many people as possible.”
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August Graham is a reporter from Pennsylvania City.
