Around 800,000 manufacturing and supply chain jobs in automotive and steel could be lost without proper support and investment in net zero infrastructure, warns Trades Union Congress (TUC).
The warning comes after prime minister Rishi Sunak delayed pledges to reach net zero by 2050.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said tackling the climate crisis could be an “opportunity to build a fairer, more prosperous UK” but argues that jobs are at serious risk because of the “Conservatives’ reckless and incoherent politicking.”
“While other countries are investing in the jobs of tomorrow and properly supporting their manufacturing bases, the Tories are abandoning key net zero targets,” he added.
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The TUC is calling for an investment plan like US president Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act for the UK — where the US invested £301 billion ($369 billion) in low-carbon technologies, green skills training and climate adaption.
As edie reported, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has promised a British response to these plans, which offer billions in subsidies and tax credits for low-carbon manufacturing, at the Autumn Statement in November.
This announcement was originally hoped for at the Budget this spring, but was delayed.
“We urgently need a Biden-style investment plan to get our industries back on track,” added Nowak.
“Ministers should be working hand in hand with unions and employers on a proper long-term industrial strategy, to create quality jobs and a safe climate,” he continued.
“The UK has a clear choice. We can invest and create hundreds of thousands of good jobs and safeguard our industrial heartlands. Or we can drag our heels and deal with the consequences – high bills, job losses and crippled industries.”
