How would a transition to a zero-carbon economy affect employment? Would jobs be lost or gained? What kinds of jobs might be created, and where would they be? This new report from Green House tries to answer these questions for the Sheffield City Region by bringing together data on the number of jobs associated with activities such as insulating homes or recycling waste with existing economic information about the region, to produce an estimate of the number of jobs that would be created in key sectors of the economy. The report estimates that, after subtracting the jobs lost, around 22,000 full time equivalent jobs would be created in the transition phase, with around 18,000 in the longer term (beyond 2030).
The report makes it clear, however, that there is no reason to hold back from moving to a zero-carbon economy out of fear that such a move might create unemployment.