Green investment in Harrogate District ‘crucial to replace jobs lost to Covid’, claims research

Carers and bike couriers are among the roles that Green New Deal UK says should be regarded as “green”. Pic: WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Green New Deal UK the not-for-profit organisation behind the analysis, says Government investment could create 1,190 green jobs in Harrogate and Knaresborough over the next 24 months, and even more, 2,571, in Skipton and Ripon.

As many as 2,153 could be created in Elmet and Rothwell, the constituency that includes Wetherby, and 2,662 in Selby and Ainsty, which includes Tadcaster.

Green New Deal UK says a net 63,113 jobs could be created across Yorkshire and the Humber, and 1.2 million across the UK as a whole.

Hannah Martin, co-executive director of Green New Deal UK, said: “Every day people are losing their jobs and struggling to find work due to Covid-19. At a time when we need to rapidly decarbonise our economy and build resilient future industries which will allow people and planet to prosper, having so many people out of work makes no sense.

“We have so much work to do to build the future we need, but we must see proper Government investment to kick-start that green jobs revolution.”

Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that the UK’s green workforce actually shrank between 2014 and 2019.

Ms Martin added: “A truly green economy is so much more than wind turbines, solar panels and electric vehicles – it is an army of retrofitters, carers, bike couriers and teachers, up and down the country, all working towards transforming our economy.

“Without doubt, it is workers that have shouldered the greatest suffering during the pandemic. So now it is crucial that we put those workers at the heart of our recovery with a Green New Deal.”

Green New Deal UK is currently funded by the European Climate Foundation, Oak Foundation, the Gower Street Foundation and the Samworth Foundation.