Are green energy jobs the key to the UK’s economic recovery?
Green jobs in renewable energy, among other sectors, should be at the heart of the Covid-19 economic recovery in the UK to ensure long-term growth, according to a new report from the London School of Economics (LSE) and Political Science. It is no secret that the UK has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, however, the report – ‘Jobs for a strong and sustainable recovery from Covid-19’ – suggest that tens of thousands of new jobs could be created by the green energy sector.
The report sets out different key areas in which government funding can be used to create sustainable jobs whilst advancing the UK’s fight against climate change. The main areas are clean energy, distribution and storage. The theory is built on the prediction that green energy will keep rising in terms of demand. The real question that people seem to have is whether green energy will really take off enough in the UK enough to provide a viable source of employment. The answer that we would give is that we already have, for the majority of 2020, we have managed to burn zero coal in our power stations which is a remarkable achievement considering that only a decade ago, 40% of our electricity came from burning coal, now, that number is fast approaching zero. All of this can be attributed to our adoption of renewable energy.
Through this process, the UK has become the owner of the biggest offshore wind farm in the world. Alongside this, the UK also has an impressive wave and tidal generation system spanning its coasts. However, if the UK wants to achieve its goal of becoming completely carbon neutral by 2050 then its energy sector will play a huge part, meaning that jobs will have to be generated to help with the green industrial revolution of the UK. Also, we will eliminate our spending on importing unhealthy fossil fuels for use in our power stations.
For more information about renewable energy in the UK, please check out this article – The rise of renewable energy in the UK
