Labour promises a million ‘green’ jobs if they gain power

The Labour Party will create a million ‘green’ jobs through industries such as carbon capture and storage (CCS), tidal energy and plastic recycling if they win power at the upcoming general election.

The pledge was made as part of their manifesto which was published this morning (November 21). It says they want to create a ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ which will create well-paid jobs and whole new industries in parts of the country that have been ‘left-behind’ since the fall of manufacturing in the 1970s and 80s.

Labour says they will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in upgrading the nation’s homes, rolling out offshore wind at scale and developing electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing.

Additional jobs include those in the expansion of port infrastructure, tree planting and flood defences.

Labour says its plans will put UK companies and workers in ‘pole position’ to benefit from the new green economy, which they believe could be worth $9 trillion globally by 2030.

Labour also says they will create 320,000 ‘climate apprenticeships’ to help upskill people for the new positions.

Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn said: ‘This election is the last opportunity to take the vital action to head off runaway climate change.

‘The next Labour government will lead the world in tackling the climate and environmental emergency with a plan to create a low-carbon economy with well-paid jobs we can be proud of.

‘Labour will bring the country together to face a common challenge and mobilise all our national resources, both financial and human, to kick-start a Green Industrial Revolution.’

Earlier this week, the party faced criticism from green groups after shelving plans to include a target of net-zero emissions by 2030 in their manifesto.

According to the Guardian, several unions pushed for a target of ‘significant progress’ rather than a firm date.

Tim Roache, GMB’s general secretary, said: ‘The proposal to do it by 2030 threatens whole communities, threatens jobs, and frankly GMB members in communities right up and down the UK have heard it all before.’