The UK's Net Zero Economy Surpasses One Million Jobs and £100 Billion
Britain's net zero economy has crossed a historic milestone. A new report commissioned by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) and analysed by CBI Economics and The Data City reveals that the sector now supports over 1.1 million workers and generates £105 billion in Gross Value Added (GVA) each year. That is roughly 1.5 times the national productivity average per full-time job, underscoring how the transition to clean energy is reshaping the country's industrial base.
The report, titled "The Race for Net Zero", is the fourth annual assessment of the scale and nature of the UK's net zero economy. It was officially launched in Hull and covers data up to mid-2026. The findings land at a time when the government is pushing its own green energy plan, which aims to create 400,000 new jobs, and as global competition for clean technology investment intensifies. Put simply, net zero is no longer just an environmental target; it is a major driver of employment, wages, and regional growth.
Peter Chalkley, Director of the ECIU, described the workforce milestone as a sign that the UK has moved beyond ambition. "Reaching net zero emissions is scientifically the only way to bring the climate back into balance and stop climate change, but it's now become a major part of the UK economy," he said in a statement. The report identifies 22,700 small businesses (firms with fewer than 50 employees) as the "unsung heroes" powering this clean economy, alongside six billion-pound economic hotspots spread from the Scottish Central Belt to West and North Yorkshire, and North Wales and Cheshire.
Net Zero Jobs Outperform the National Economy on Pay and Productivity
One of the most striking findings is the wage premium in the net zero sector. The average salary for a net zero job is £43,142, which is 11% higher than the national average of £39,039. Those roles also generate £119,300 in economic value per full-time worker, 48% above the UK average. This productivity boost is particularly notable given the wider stagnation in UK productivity growth over recent years.
Louise Hellem, Chief Economist at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), stressed that these figures illustrate a structural shift. "At a time when the UK must strengthen energy security and drive growth, the net zero economy is becoming central to the country's future competitiveness," she said. The jobs span everything from solar panel installation and electric vehicle manufacturing to engineering, consultancy, finance, and infrastructure delivery. In other words, green skills are now embedded across the entire economy, not just in niche environmental sectors.
The report also notes that higher wages are directly linked to higher productivity. Net zero companies tend to be more capital-intensive, often requiring advanced technology and specialised training. This makes them natural candidates for the kind of high-value employment that policymakers covet. As the government prepares to launch a new national clean energy plan (expected to create 400,000 jobs by 2030), the ECIU report provides a baseline showing that the foundation is already strong.
Regional Hotspots and the Rise of Small Businesses
The geography of the net zero economy is remarkably distributed. Yorkshire and the Humber leads England with net zero activity accounting for 4.4% of its local GVA and supporting over 79,000 jobs. Other hotspots include the Scottish Central Belt, West and North Yorkshire, and the North Wales and Cheshire corridor. The report identifies six locations where net zero GVA exceeds £1 billion: the Scottish Central Belt, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Cheshire and Warrington, the North East of England, and the West Midlands.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of this growth. The report found 22,700 small firms actively contributing to net zero supply chains. Dr. Natasha Boulding, CEO of Low Carbon Materials (LCM), a North East company, said: "The report's finding that the region is one of the country's biggest hotspots for SMEs in net zero matches what the team sees every day. With the green economy now employing over a million people and worth more than £100 billion, the demand for low-carbon construction is only going one way."
This dispersal of jobs and investment is a deliberate feature of the UK's devolved approach to industrial strategy. Unlike the financial sector, which is heavily concentrated in London and the South East, net zero activity is spread across former industrial heartlands, coastal communities, and rural areas. The report's authors argue that this makes the transition politically and socially resilient, because it creates local constituencies with a direct stake in continued decarbonisation.
The Small Business Engine
Neil Spann, CEO of solar technology company Power Roll, said the data confirms what innovators already see on the ground. "The net zero sector is already a major driver of growth, contributing tens of billions to the UK economy and growing significantly faster than the wider economy," he said. "Crucially, the report also shows that this growth is being delivered by a broad base of innovative large and smaller businesses across the country." His company is a good example: a small firm in County Durham developing lightweight solar films for buildings and vehicles.
Government Plans and the Global Race for Clean Energy Talent
The UK government has its own ambitious targets. Recent announcements from ministers indicate a goal to create 400,000 new jobs through a national green energy plan, partly by accelerating offshore wind, hydrogen, and carbon capture projects. The ECIU report suggests that target is achievable, but only with consistent policy and continued investment in skills. The report warns that global competition for clean energy investment is fierce, with the US Inflation Reduction Act and EU Green Deal Industrial Plan both offering generous subsidies to attract manufacturers.
Peter Chalkley put it bluntly: "With the UK's net zero workforce having surged past one million, communities from Hull to Ellesmere Port, and North Lanarkshire to Somerset need to see consistent stable policy into the future. With global demand now falling for petrol cars and installations of net zero tech like solar panels and heat pumps rising, the UK is in a global race to develop future-proof clean industries. Standing still or looking back just isn't an option for job security."
The government has responded by launching a Net Zero Skills Taskforce and committing to a national clean energy infrastructure programme. But the ECIU report emphasises that execution matters more than ambition. Supply chains need to be developed, planning reforms need to be enacted, and the workforce needs to be trained. The 84% of global GDP now covered by net zero commitments (according to the Net Zero Tracker) means that the UK is competing not just with traditional rivals, but with every major economy on the planet.
A £455 Billion Infrastructure Pipeline and the Path Ahead
Construction and infrastructure are foundational to the net zero economy. The report identifies a £455 billion renewable energy infrastructure pipeline, representing 262 GW of capacity. That includes offshore wind farms, transmission networks, battery storage facilities, and low-carbon industrial sites. Much of this build-out will require civil engineering, project management, and manufacturing jobs across the UK.
CBI's Louise Hellem noted that the opportunity extends well beyond energy generation. "Across energy, manufacturing, services and supply chains, the UK has the expertise to build on this strength and capture even greater commercial opportunities," she said. The report singles out sectors such as industrial decarbonisation (particularly in steel, cement, and chemicals), low-carbon hydrogen, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure as areas where the UK has a competitive edge.
But the report also warns of risks. The green skills gap remains a bottleneck: the UK does not currently have enough engineers, electricians, and construction workers trained in net zero technologies. The government's new careers campaign, alongside apprenticeship reforms, aims to close that gap, but results will take years. In the meantime, companies are competing for a limited pool of talent, driving up wages but also potentially stalling some projects.
Industry Voices: Why Net Zero is Now an Economic Imperative
Beyond the statistics, the report gathers commentary from business leaders who make the case that net zero is not a niche green project but a core economic strategy. Louise Hellem summarised it as: "This report makes clear the sustained scale of the opportunity in the UK's net zero economy. It shows that clean power and decarbonisation are no longer future ambitions – they are already a significant and growing part of the UK's industrial base."
The tone from business is pragmatic. Companies like Low Carbon Materials and Power Roll are not relying on subsidies alone; they are building products that compete on cost and performance. Dr. Boulding's observation that demand for low-carbon materials "is only going one way" reflects a broader confidence that regulation, consumer preference, and corporate net zero targets will continue to drive procurement decisions. Meanwhile, the £455 billion pipeline provides a visible pipeline of work for the next decade.
For policymakers, the message is clear: the net zero economy is already delivering jobs, wages, and regional rebalancing. The challenge is to maintain momentum. As Peter Chalkley said, "Thousands of small businesses across the UK are the unsung heroes of this net zero economy, installing solar panels on roofs, manufacturing parts for electric cars and in doing so creating greater energy independence for the UK." The report's conclusion is that the UK cannot afford to step back from an industry already contributing £100 billion to the economy, an industry that is also essential to meeting climate targets. The race is on.
