GREEN 'MISTAKE'
Ed Miliband’s ambitious pledge to deliver 650,000 green jobs to Britain slammed by Tony Blair
A report reads 'Betting everything on green growth would be a mistake'
ED Miliband’s vow that Britain will see a green jobs bonanza has been rubbished by Sir Tony Blair’s think tank.
The Net Zero chief has touted bold ambitions ever since Labour pledged to deliver 650,000 jobs by 2030 in its pre-election manifesto.
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But the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change says that based on current trends, the green economy is more likely to employ just 350,000 people — barely enough to offset the decline in carbon-heavy “grey” industries.
Even in the think tank’s best-case scenario, it estimates just 425,000 green manufacturing jobs by 2050 — meaning it will take two more decades to reach levels a third under the target.
Its report reads: “Betting everything on green growth would be a mistake.
"It must be a pillar of the UK’s growth strategy, but cannot be the whole strategy.
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“To succeed, the UK must cultivate multiple engines of growth and not skew its strategy too heavily towards ‘green’.”
The TBI predicted “fully capitalising on the Net Zero transition” would lift the UK annual growth rate by at most 0.2 percentage points over the next 25 years.
It stressed the Government faced a critical test on its industrial strategy, on which it would be judged on its competence and ability to deliver growth.
The TBI also said the Government should court China to invest in electric vehicles made here.
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