Green industries and investment could create 9,000 jobs over the next 15 years as Cumbria seeks to hit its 2037 net-zero target, according to a new independent report.
The Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS) report, entitled ‘The potential for green jobs in Cumbria’, claims that 9,000 jobs could be created for local people during a 15-year ‘transition period’ towards the county reaching net-zero, and a further 3,800 jobs in the longer term across sectors including transport, industry, renewable heat, renewable electricity and waste.
The Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, which includes about 70 public, private and third sector organisations, has set a net-zero target year of 2037 for the county.
This would require an 18 per cent reduction in carbon emissions each year.
Investment of £8.88bn could put in place measures to reduce Cumbria’s carbon emissions by 57 per cent, compared to a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario, with additional initiatives identified which could fill the remaining 43 per cent gap to reach net-zero, the report suggests.
Savings of £854 million could be made to Cumbria’s annual energy bill as a result of the investment, it says.
“The potential for green jobs across all regions of Cumbria is substantial,” explained Karen Mitchell, CEO of CAfS.
“High-quality, long-term and environmentally sustainable jobs could help the region recover from decades of neglect, exacerbated by the pandemic. But for Cumbria to realise this potential requires a steadfast commitment to the green industries and technologies of the future.”
Renewable energy is singled out as a sector with particularly significant potential for local green jobs, emissions reduction and cheaper household bills.
Electricity generation from wind (offshore and onshore), tidal, hydro and solar could create nearly 6,000 jobs during the 15-year transition period, of which 3,500 would be in west Cumbria, says the report.
In the long-term there could be about 2,000 additional jobs in the maintenance of renewable energy systems, it says.
CAfS say the report “highlights the potential that the adoption of low-carbon technologies and behaviours has for job creation which could serve as an attractive alternative to the high-carbon jobs currently being proposed for the Whitehaven coal mine.”
Of the green jobs which could be created in the transition period, from 2022-2037:
- 4,500 would be in West Cumbria (the site of the Whitehaven coal mine) – about 3,500 in renewable electricity, 650 in retrofitting buildings, 150 in waste management and 150 in industry.
- 1,500 would be in Barrow – about 800 in renewable electricity, 300 in retrofitting buildings, 150 in green transport, 100 in waste management, and 100 in industry.
- 1,100 would be in Carlisle – about 300 in renewable electricity, 450 in retrofitting buildings, 150 in green transport, 100 in waste management, and 100 in industry.
- 1,100 would be in Eden – about 750 in renewable electricity, 250 in retrofitting buildings, 100 in waste management, and 50 in industry.
- 1,000 would be in South Lakeland – about 450 in renewable electricity, 400 in retrofitting buildings, 100 in waste management and 50 in industry.
