Up to 660,000 jobs at risk if UK fails to cut carbon emissions quickly enough, union says

‘Business as usual’ not an option for manufacturing sector, TUC claims as it calls for greater state investment in green transition. Jon Sharman reports

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Up to 660,000 jobs could be lost to employers overseas if the UK does not reach net-zero carbon emissions quickly enough, a union has claimed.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC) published figures on Sunday which claimed some 260,000 people directly employed in the manufacturing sector could see their roles shipped overseas, along with about 400,000 others in the supply chain.

This doomsday scenario is a potential outcome of so-called “carbon leakage”, the group said, “where the high costs of emitting greenhouse gases domestically could prompt businesses to relocate production to countries with less strict rules on emissions” – or more generous state support for low-carbon transition.