THE number of green jobs in Scotland has fallen again with businesses making less money, official figures suggest.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates reveal that employment in the low carbon and renewable energy sector dropped from 21,400 full-time jobs in 2019 to 20,500 in 2020.
It is the fourth consecutive year that job numbers have decreased, down from 24,000 in 2016.
Scottish business turnover in the low carbon and renewable energy economy was estimated to be £5.5 billion as part of the £41.2 billion recorded across the UK.
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Turnover was down from £5.7bn the year before, with the UK-wide figure down from £42.6bn in 2019.
The ONS figures define the low carbon and renewable energy sector as businesses in one of 17 industries, including offshore and onshore wind, hydropower, nuclear, low-emission vehicles and carbon capture.
New ONS statistics show another drop in green jobs in Scotland from 21,700 in 2019 to 20,500 in 2020. This is down from 23,200 in 2014.
— STUC (@ScottishTUC) February 17, 2022
This comes as no surprise given the lack of a joined up industrial strategy to create green jobs.
Find out more: https://t.co/FBOSAtcE1i pic.twitter.com/b7cMnNvNQS
Responding to the figures, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) said a lack of a coherent industrial strategy was responsible for the decline of green jobs.
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer said: “Workers were promised the Saudi Arabia of renewables, but all they got was a desert.
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“We are getting sick and tired of reading promises of a bright new green jobs future when the truth is we have fewer than we did eight years ago, and the number continues to fall.
“We may have a massive share of Europe’s installed onshore wind capacity, but we don’t manufacture turbines.
“And we may have some of Europe’s largest offshore wind farms, but we barely fabricate any jackets.
“We need a new strategy, and we need it urgently.”
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