In a week when the International Monetary Fund forecast the UK to be the only major economy to contract this year, there was some good news: the country’s net-zero economy is booming.
That’s according to a report by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU). It suggested that net zero efforts are worth £70bn to the UK economy, and that green jobs pay more, with salaries averaging £42,600 compared to a national average of £33,4000.
The report said that firms involved in the energy transition have brought jobs and investment to parts of the UK that were experiencing industrial decline, such as Tyneside, Merseyside and Derbyshire. It calculated that 840,0000 jobs are now linked to the net zero industry.
“From insulation fitters to heat pump engineers and agritech pioneers, businesses in the net zero economy are adding £70bn to the UK economy,” said Peter Chalkley, director of ECIU. “The net zero economy is addressing levelling-up and the UK’s productivity problem, but with the EU and US investing heavily in clean technologies, the question now is will the UK keep up?”
Image: Shaun Dakin
