Prime minister promises 400,000 environmental sector jobs by 2018

The prime minister has insisted that thousands of green jobs will be created in the UK, despite fears that the government is not providing enough financial support.

In next week’s Budget, chancellor Alistair Darling will unveil plans to boost a low carbon industrial strategy that could create 400,000 environmental sector jobs by 2018, Gordon Brown said today.

Pilot cities across the UK will also install charging points for electric cars, as the government tries to show its commitment to going green.

Brown told the Independent: “It is not just what we do to give real help to people and business now, but about setting a path for the future as well.”

“[The green energy sector] is a job creator, a quality of life improver and an environment-enhancing measure,” he added.

Yesterday, a report by think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research warned the UK would miss out on at least 70,000 green jobs in the offshore wind sector if the government did not provide serious financial support.

A further 133,000 jobs in the renewable energy industry could be lost to manufacturers abroad if the UK did not enable British firms to start work and create jobs, the report warned.

The Bank of England has also warned the government has little money left after bailing out failed banks and cutting value-added tax.

But Brown told the paper the UK could increase its output of green goods and services by 50% to £1.5bn over the next few years.

“This is a major part of our plan for recovery in the budget,” he said. “A different type of economy will emerge in the recovery if we are prepared to invest in the future,” he said.