The U.K.'s transition to a low-carbon economy could create 400,000 new jobs in the U.K. over the next eight years and put the country at the heart of a booming $4 trillion global sector as countries move to cut carbon emissions, U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday.
Citing independent research at the launch of the U.K. government's Low Carbon Industrial Strategy, Brown said jobs in the low carbon and environmental goods and services sector could total 1.3 million by 2017.
"Millions of jobs in the future could be low-carbon jobs - green jobs...we won't have the strength of (economic) recovery we need unless we have low carbon recovery," Brown told a conference of U.K. business leaders.
"We want to be among the first of the low carbon powers," he said.
The U.K. government's low carbon industrial strategy will focus on energy efficiency in the public and private sector, new energy infrastructure such as electricity grid construction for renewable energy and the development and production of low carbon vehicles.
The strategy will also focus on ensuring the skills, infrastructure, procurement and research and development are sufficient for the U.K. to lead global low carbon growth.
The government is to consult with business, unions, environmental experts and other stakeholders before publishing the Low Carbon Industrial Strategy this summer.
"Our task now is to ensure that British-based firms and British workers supply the goods and services that will enable these (carbon emissions) reductions to be achieved," Brown said, referring to U.K. targets to cut its carbon emissions 80% by 2050.
According to independent research by U.K.-based Innovas consultancy group, the low carbon and environmental goods and services sector of the U.K. economy was worth GBP107 billion last year and employed 880,000 people.
Innovas said the sector could grow by another GBP45 billion over the next decade and create another 400,000 jobs.
The global market for the low carbon and environmental goods and services sector is estimated to be worth GBP3 trillion and is forecast to grow 45% from now until 2017.
Brown also said he wanted the G20 meeting, which he is hosting in London in April, to focus on the construction of a clean energy new deal to aid global economic recovery and create jobs.