{"id":368185,"date":"2025-03-01T17:04:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T16:04:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=368185"},"modified":"2025-03-01T17:04:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T16:04:29","slug":"economist-rubbishes-cbis-green-jobs-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=368185","title":{"rendered":"Economist Rubbishes CBI\u2019s Green Jobs\u00a0Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Economist Julian Jessop has written a full rebuttal of the CBI\u2019s silly green jobs claim this week, which I covered here:<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Monday the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit<\/a> published a report<\/a> by CBI Economics that generated plenty of uncritical headlines about the \u2018booming net zero economy\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In particular, the report claimed that the total economic value (gross value added \u2013 GVA) generated by the sector grew by 10.1% last year, and that this supported the equivalent of 951,000 full-time jobs. The energy secretary Ed Miliband added that<\/a> \u2018these numbers speak for themselves. Net zero is essential to growth, a strong economy and money in working people\u2019s pockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the figures in the CBI report simply do not justify this spin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a start, there are valid questions about how the CBI has defined the \u2018net zero economy\u2019<\/a>, the accounting for taxes and subsidies<\/a>, and the failure to address the impacts that the rush to decarbonise the grid<\/a> might be having on energy bills and energy security. But even putting these concerns aside, the whole approach is conceptually flawed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take the headline that between 2023 and 2024, the contribution from the sector grew by 10.1%, which led to the conclusion that the Net Zero economy is now a key driver of growth. Note first that that figure refers to GVA in current prices, so not adjusted for inflation. It would therefore be plain wrong to compare this figure to the growth of less than 1% in real GDP in the economy as a whole (as some others have done<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More importantly, just because one sector expanded relatively quickly does not mean it \u2018drove growth\u2019. Activity may simply have shifted (or been reclassified) to this sector from others. Indeed, the benefit from boosting one sector may have been more than outweighed by the costs to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if more people decide (or are forced) to buy from a shop with higher prices and large taxpayer subsidies, can that shop really be said to be driving growth even if overall retail sales are unchanged? The answer is obviously \u2018no\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also makes a lot of the \u2018multiplier effects\u2019 with \u2018every \u00a31 of value generated by the Net Zero economy creating an additional \u00a31.89 in the wider economy\u2019. To get this figure, the report counts supply chain activities and \u2018broader economic contributions\u2019, including spending by people working in the supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the same would presumably apply to any capital-intensive, high-earning activities \u2013 for example, making petrol cars rather than electric vehicles. A skilled worker installing solar panels could presumably do just as well installing gas boilers or wood burners. There is nothing special here about the \u2018net zero economy\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, the report notes that the \u2018net zero economy\u2019 now employs a large number of people and that these are paid more than the average worker. It even claims that net zero can make \u2018significant contributions towards solving the UK\u2019s productivity puzzle\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the energy sector has always been one with relatively high productivity and high pay \u2013 think of workers in the North Sea oil and gas industry. Again, there is nothing special here about the \u2018Net Zero\u2019 part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, the CBI report simply confirms that increasing amounts of scarce resources \u2013 including labour and capital \u2013 are being deployed in activities classified as \u2018Net Zero\u2019. This diversion of resources could be just as much a cost as a benefit. All in all, this report tells us next to nothing about whether net zero is good or bad for the economy as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Monday the\u00a0Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit\u00a0published a\u00a0report\u00a0by CBI Economics that generated plenty of uncritical headlines about the \u2018booming net zero economy\u2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":368190,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691833591,691833592,691822603,691821028,691818154,691823217],"class_list":{"0":"post-368185","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-cbi-report","9":"tag-economist-julian-jessop","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-green-jobs","12":"tag-net-zero","13":"tag-taxpayer-subsidies","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/0greenjobsnow.webp?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1xMt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":367526,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=367526","url_meta":{"origin":368185,"position":0},"title":"The Million Missing Green Jobs Have Been\u00a0Found!","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"25\/02\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Tellingly the report offers no detail on the number of jobs in each specific sector, but we do know that it includes conventional jobs, such as waste management, heating, and the motor sector.","rel":"","context":"In \"Confederation of British Industry (CBI)\"","block_context":{"text":"Confederation of British Industry (CBI)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=confederation-of-british-industry-cbi"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0green-jobs.jpg?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0green-jobs.jpg?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0green-jobs.jpg?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0green-jobs.jpg?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0green-jobs.jpg?fit=1200%2C768&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":390451,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=390451","url_meta":{"origin":368185,"position":1},"title":"The hypocrisy of Labour\u2019s attacks on Reform\u2019s net zero plans\u2013Ross Clark","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"23\/07\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The net zero lobby just gets sillier and sillier.\u00a0According\u00a0to energy minister Michael Shanks, Reform\u2019s policy of abandoning net zero targets is an \u2018anti-growth ideology\u2019 which would cost nearly a million jobs. 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