The Labour government needs to ramp up the creation of green jobs or risk workers being tempted to vote for parties opposing the shift to net zero, two major unions have said.
The GMB and Prospect, who between them represent tens of thousands of energy workers, said there needs to be more of a focus on increasing green jobs as the fossil fuel industry is increasingly phased out.
They said without more tangible progress there is a danger of public support for the transition to clean energy being undermined – and potentially voters opting for a new government that does not support net zero.
Their intervention comes after Reform UK pledged to rip up green energy contracts if the party wins power and the Conservatives also shifted away from support for net zero earlier this year, showing the political arguments over the shift to green jobs are not settled.
Launching a new campaign group called Climate Jobs UK, Gary Smith, the general secretary of GMB union, said: “How the UK makes the transition to net zero is hugely important. The voices of those working in the energy sector day in, day out, who have vast experience of dealing with change, need to be front and centre of the process. If not, it’s doomed to fail.
“At the moment, the transition feels like something being done to workers – that can’t continue. People need to see real jobs created where they live, and their local economy boosted, or we’re going to see more and more tempted by the siren calls of those who deny the reality of climate change.”
The campaign will aim to put energy workers and jobs at the centre of the UK’s debate on decarbonisation. Unions say it is needed because they want more to be done to ensure good jobs are created in low carbon energy, and the government’s industrial strategy focuses on supporting workers and communities who will see a decline in jobs in industries that are being phased out.
GMB and Prospect said new research commissioned from YouGov shows that 55% of the public want to see jobs and the economy prioritised, while 17% of those surveyed said they would put the need for speed first.
Only three in 10 voters thought the energy transition would have a positive impact on job opportunities in the UK, and this fell to two in 10 when asked about jobs in their own local area. Fewer than one in 10 voters said the transition had led to more job opportunities in their area so far.
The research found that overall the public feel more positively than negatively about the energy transition by 55% to 16% but that Reform voters have markedly more negative views at 48% and the party is seeking to capitalise on discontent in communities where the energy industry is declining.
Mike Clancy, the general secretary of Prospect, said the biggest challenge with the energy transition “is no longer climate technology, it is climate jobs”.
“We are going to need tens of thousands of workers to deliver this huge shift in the way we produce and use energy. Building on the clean energy industrial strategy, the opportunity is to deliver good, clean energy jobs for the people and places that most need them,” he said.
“But this research shows that people aren’t yet seeing those jobs materialise, and if this continues then it will undermine support for the transition and drive people towards parties who oppose it and would put the future of the industry at risk.
“The government have raised the ambition on energy policy, which is welcome, now they need to be bigger and bolder when it comes to energy jobs and put energy workers at the heart of this agenda.”
The Climate Jobs UK campaign will be supported by the Climate Jobs National Resource Center, which worked with unions in the US to run campaigns on how to create good union jobs while tackling the climate crisis.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said: “The clean energy transition is the economic opportunity of the 21st century, with investment from this government helping to secure hundreds of thousands of new jobs across the UK in growing industries from carbon capture to nuclear.
“We are working with trade unions to drive good jobs with high pay in the clean energy sector – including driving to ensure high levels of unionisation across the renewables industry.”