Questions to the Mayor of London – answered at on 22 January 2021.
How will the Green New Deal up-skill Londoners in order to exploit the job opportunities in a low carbon circular economy?
My Green New Deal (GND) programme has been developed specifically to help deliver a green and fair recovery. The GND will help to ensure that London’s recovery from the pandemic will lead to a cleaner, fairer, more equal city with a renewed drive to tackle the climate emergency, whilst also creating good quality jobs.
A green recovery will not only drive action to make London fairer, but it will also help strengthen our existing economy and jobs. In 2019/20 London’s low carbon and environmental goods and services sector was worth around £48 billion and employed around 315,000 people across the sector. £48 billion in sales and employed around 315,000 people
My GND Fund has provided funding for two projects - Better Futures and Advance London (awarded £900K each). Both of these programmes aim to support the growth of London-based SMEs who produce technologies, goods and services that reduce negative impacts on our environment. The money will help expand their programmes of business support and to increase access to more diverse communities through their grants and internship programmes. It will also support the development of a digital platform to increase access to market, an SME accelerator programme and bespoke support to SMEs hit by the impacts of the pandemic.
As part of London’s wider recovery programme, it will link with the Helping Londoners into Good Work Mission to develop a green skills academy. This will develop a high-quality training offer to help build London’s skills base to meet the growing demand for green jobs. I will also be launching an Adult Education Budget (AEB) recovery fund in February to support training in London’s key growth sectors, including low carbon.
Recognising that achieving a net-carbon zero economy by 2030 will require an influx of new skills, jobs and training opportunities, we are undertaking a research project involving employers, borough councils and training providers to understand where and how the GLA can best support London’s green industries.