GRJ0058

Green New Deal UK submission to EAC green jobs inquiry

1. About us

1.1  This response is submitted on behalf of Green New Deal UK.

1.2  Green New Deal UK was founded in 2019 to coordinate and facilitate UK-based campaigning and organising for a Green New Deal. Our small staff team and a core of national volunteers support a growing number of local ‘hubs’ (currently around 20) working for a Green New Deal. We were instrumental in setting up the Build Back Better alliance for a green and just recovery from the pandemic and are currently focusing particularly on the need and potential for green jobs.

1.3  We would like to draw your attention to two reports we have published recently, the key elements of which are outlined below.

2. Green Jobs for All

2.1   Our report ‘Green Jobs for All’ was published in November 2020. In it, we argue for the adoption of a broader definition of green jobs, to include care and other key services which are by their nature low carbon.

2.2   The inclusion of care jobs paints a broader picture of job potential in a near-future zero-carbon society and acknowledges the key role of the foundational economy. As the Women’s Budget Group and others have argued, a just transition must address gender inequality as well as other forms of inequality and must recognise “paid and unpaid care work as central components of both the economy and systems that sustain life.”[i]

2.3   Using existing research on green recovery programmes, including research published since the pandemic began, our report provides UK-wide estimates for potential job creation from a programme of investment across the country, assuming that the government intends both to surpass its existing decarbonisation commitments, accelerating towards a net-zero date of 2030, and to address the expected future demand for care.

2.4   At a cost to government of £68bn, we estimate that a total of 1.2m jobs can be created in the UK inside the next two years. This estimate focuses particularly on care jobs (with an estimate of just over 646,000 jobs) and should not necessarily be considered to be comprehensive. Longer term, there is potential for a substantially higher number of new green jobs; our report provides indicative figures for selected sectors but does not suggest a total figure. 

2.5   Our report also emphasises that the jobs created should be ‘good’ jobs: decently paid, with good job security, reasonable hours and a voice for employees. Our modelling assumes that these basic standards would be met.

2.6   The full report will be available from the end of January 2021 and can be sent to the Committee if more detail would be of use to the inquiry.

3.      ‘A Green New Deal for Gatwick’

3.1  ‘A Green New Deal for Gatwick’, a joint report by the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), Green House Think Tank and Green New Deal UK, explores the urgent need for investment in jobs in the Gatwick diamond in response to COVID-19. It examines the latent skills potential held by former aviation workers and propose a constructive, positive investment in quality, secure jobs - jobs that meet the present and future needs of communities and the environment.

3.2  We wish to stress that while major central government investment in jobs is urgently needed, a just transition to a zero-carbon economy can only take place with the consent and participation of workers and communities. It is vital that a funded, comprehensive just transition strategy be developed as an urgent priority, with the participation of workers, businesses, communities and local government.

3.3  We refer the Committee to the full report, which can be found here: https://www.greennewdealuk.org/updates/a-green-new-deal-for-gatwick/

We would be pleased to discuss the content of these reports further with the Committee or other stakeholders.

January 2021