Jobs, growth and energy independence start with green power

Jobs. That’s what people are worried about right now. The economy is wobbling, AI is eating into whole professions, and Britain still hasn’t recovered from decades of deindustrialisation. Even the fossil fuel industry, which politicians keep pretending is our safety blanket, is fading fast. North Sea oil and gas is in terminal decline, and the industry itself admits it’s already cost around 200,000 jobs since its peak in 2014.

Here’s the thing though… this isn’t a story about loss. It’s about what comes next. Because while some cling to the past, there’s a green economy quietly getting on with the future and creating work at a scale that makes North Sea drilling look tiny.

And it would be even bigger if it weren’t for the usual suspects standing in the way.

A green jobs boom is already here

The green economy isn’t a nice idea for tomorrow, it’s happening now. In 2024 it grew by 10.4%, adding more than £83 billion to the UK economy. That’s not a projection, that’s real money and real work. The power sector alone will need another 130,000 workers by 2030 to keep up with demand. A year later, companies spoken to by the FT are saying the same thing in plain language… they’re hiring flat out.

Within four years, almost 300,000 people will be directly employed in the power sector. That’s more than aerospace and automotive combined. These are skilled, future-proof jobs too, paying between £41,000 and £65,000 on average. This isn’t a flash in the pan or a short-term subsidy bubble. The Climate Change Committee says the path to Net Zero can create around 725,000 new jobs between now and 2050.

Compare that to North Sea oil and gas, which directly employed just over 30,000 people in 2019. Even when you look beyond raw job numbers, green work still wins. Each worker in the green economy generates around £105,000 in economic value, nearly 40% above the UK average. That’s what a modern industrial strategy looks like.

How green energy spreads opportunity across Britain

Old-school power stations were built near cities. Renewables don’t work like that. Wind, sun and storage spread opportunity across the country, from the world's largest offshore wind farm planned in Scotland to solar and grid upgrades everywhere else. Energy generation can happen locally, regionally and nationally all at once.

That changes everything. It means rebuilding and expanding the grid to move power from where it’s made to where it’s needed. It means electrifying transport, heating and heavy industry. It means engineers, technicians, planners, builders and maintenance crews everywhere. The green transition doesn’t shed jobs, it multiplies them.

When people talk about protecting oil and gas workers, the instinct is right but the conclusion is wrong. Clinging to a declining industry won’t save jobs. Using the same tools that built renewables to help workers move into cleaner, longer-lasting roles will.

This really isn’t complicated. It’s fair, it’s practical, and it works. The green economy is already delivering what politicians keep promising but never quite manage… jobs, growth, resilience and energy independence.

All we need now is the political will to stop looking backwards and get on with it…:)