We've Heard Ed Miliband's 'Green Jobs' Promise Before

They didn't turn up in 2017 and they won't turn up now

This week, Ed Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero announced a plank in its ‘clean power’ by 2030 agenda. “Clean energy will bring 400,000 extra jobs by 2030, with high demand for roles including plumbers, electricians and welders,” proclaimed the DESNZ press release. The fanfare, however, was soon drowned out by the sound of a great deal of well-deserved derision.

The chaps at Climate Scepticism were the first to the scene, with JIT pointing out that, if DESNZ’s claim that “jobs in the clean energy sector command average salaries of more than £50,000” is correct, then the 400,000 new roles will cost at least a combined £20 billion. That’s a bill that will one way or another land on households’ doormats (or email inboxes) to the tune of nearly £1,000 each if we factor in the cost of employment taxes and other expenses, JIT points out.