Lack of funding and staff limit climate sector’s impact on conservation and net zero efforts, say workers
Staff shortages, a lack of specialist personnel and low pay are major barriers to achieving net zero, according to workers in the UK environment sector.
Staff shortages, a lack of specialist personnel and low pay are major barriers to achieving net zero, according to workers in the UK environment sector.
One respondent described the “demoralising” effect of a workplace with a “lack of reward for expertise gained over time”, and where “programme managers are valued more highly than international experts”.
Thirty-seven per cent of respondents cited government policy as the primary obstacle to preserving the natural environment and achieving net zero carbon emissions.
Another described their workplace as “supportive and inclusive” but said it was “abundantly clear that underfunding and understaffing limit the extent of the impact that we can have on actually making concrete progress on conservation and restoration of nature.
Sue Ferns, the senior deputy general secretary of Prospect, said the survey was “invaluable to understanding what is happening at the frontline of the fight to tackle the climate crisis.
“Despite the government talking up the potential of green jobs, it is failing to put in place the funding needed to make working in the natural environment the aspirational career that it should be.”