The Workers Union is backing a green jobs revolution.
The news came as environmental think-tank Green Alliance published a report that argues the government could boost job prospects in some parts of the country by enhancing peatland, woodland and urban parks.
Green Alliance said that 66 percent of the land that is most suitable for recovering green spaces is located in areas with high rates of unemployment. Regenerating these areas could create up to 16,050 new jobs ranging from those that require little formal training to graduate positions.
The authors of “Jobs For A Green Recovery” go on to say that: ‘Environmental improvements could also help to level up local economies in other ways, raising productivity through improved physical and mental wellbeing. Almost half a million people live in neighbourhoods across the country with no trees or green spaces. The pandemic has exacerbated inequalities, with low paid, insecure work hit the hardest. Well paid, secure green jobs will improve people’s financial prospects and the places they live and work.’
The Workers Union on Green Jobs
We’ve all seen the news in recent years. Live by satellite images of forests burning beneath coal-black skies and polar bears floating, marooned on melting fragments of ice. In amongst these poignant pictures, sad human dramas are woven. People displaced because their crops failed to grow. Thirsty children chased by wraiths of dust as the hot sun burns behind them.
It’s easy to be moved by what we see in these moments, and forget about it when they have passed. Perhaps this is related to distance: In this country, we might feel like what we see on TV is remote, happening to people in ways we do not understand in places that will never reach us. But the warning signs are there in our unpredictable weather and the struggles of the UK’s indicator species. As major producers, consumers and spenders, we owe it to ourselves and everyone else to grasp the opportunity to create jobs and ways of living that complement our relationship with nature, rather than destroy it.
The good news is that this is eminently possible. We have a rich tapestry of habitats in this country that are full of potential. We are surrounded by the water we require for hydro-electrical power and our blustery island has no shortage of fuel for wind turbines. There are opportunities aplenty to redefine the way that we do business and reskill current and future generations for the challenges ahead.
Of course some people will remain determinedly cynical about this. But we ask them to remember that this country created the first industrial revolution. For that reason alone, we would not bet against us being at the forefront of the second.
The Workers Union – fighting for social justice, fighting for you
