Over 4,000 green jobs COULD be created in Hereford and Worcester in next two years
It's thought it would help the unemployment crisis and the climate emergency
New research shows over four thousand green infrastructure jobs could be created in Herefordshire and Worcestershire over the next two years with proper investment.
Data from from Green New Deal UK suggests that investment in green jobs holds the key to levelling up between the regions, boosting the recovery and could replace every job lost as a result of the pandemic.
Permanent Covid-19 job losses are expected to reach nearly a million (992,757) in two years and nearly two million (1,985,513) over the next ten years.
But Government and private investment in green infrastructure, energy, research and development (R&D), digital infrastructure and social care across the UK could create over 1.2 million green jobs within just two years and over 2.7 million jobs over ten years.
Paul Snookes, co-founder of Worcester Environmental Group, said:
"Retrofitting homes to a high standard can easily start now and create hundreds of new jobs for people across the two counties.
"Things like external and internal insulation or loft insulation have huge benefits for creating carbon free homes.
"It would help with this high level of unemployment and create a much better society".
This research comes in the same week as new ONS statistics are expected to reveal the extent of unemployment across the country, a cross-party group of MP’s will table an Early Day Motion calling for a comprehensive response to joblessness and President Biden unveils his plans to tackle the climate crisis on Earth Day.
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".