Green stimulus plan could create 1.2m UK jobs in two years, research finds

(The Guardian, 20 Apr 2021) Every job lost to Covid pandemic could be replaced in upcoming recovery years, Green New Deal UK finds.

A stimulus programme focused on green and digital infrastructure, research and development, energy and care work could create more than 1.2m jobs within two years and more than 2.7m jobs during the next decade, according to research.

Such a strategy alongside additional government investment could mean every job lost to the coronavirus pandemic would be replaced during vital upcoming recovery years, a report by Green New Deal UK non-profit group has found.

Permanent job losses from Covid-19 are estimated to hit approximately a million by the end of 2022 and about 2m in the next decade. But the immediate shock of the Covid recession could be offset by employment in low-CO2 sectors, finds the report, while significant strides would be made towards transitioning the economy away from fossil fuels over the next decade. The proposals are costed at £68bn – about a third of the government’s total Covid response spend of approximately £190bn to date.

The report also points to significant benefits for constituencies the government has pledged to “level up” – a number of which have been among the hardest hit by the economic fallout of the past 13 months. In the west Cumbria seat of Copeland, for instance, 8,224 jobs could be created in the next two years and 12,108 over a decade – with 8,099 of those in renewable energy.

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The Guardian, 20 Apr 2021: Green stimulus plan could create 1.2m UK jobs in two years, research finds