Responding to the government’s Industrial Strategy that was published today, co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer MP, said:
“This Industrial Strategy looks like another missed opportunity from the Labour government. The move away from polluting oil and gas towards clean power offers huge wins for communities, for workers and for industry – but that requires government to make a clear plan to urgently phase out fossil fuels, make polluting companies pay to retrain workers, and to harness the skills and innovation this country has in bucket loads.
“The investment in skills announced in today’s strategy is welcome, and the move towards clean sources of power like wind and solar offers huge opportunities for good-quality jobs in futureproofed industries.
“But the failure to make a plan for those currently working in high-carbon industries is short-sighted. 3 million workers across the UK will need re-skilling and retraining in order to make the most of the green jobs boom and fossil fuel giants must shoulder the cost of this.
“We also need to see measures to ensure that all investment in the government’s GB Energy supports jobs and industries here in the UK rather than being lost overseas.
“We have already seen decades of missed opportunities on this, leaving communities hollowed out and people forced out of work. This government must act fast to turn the corner and put Britain first in the race towards the economy of the future.”