23 Feb Money Talks #5
MoneyTalks is a project started by the students in MoneyFEST Committee (Transylvania College). Every week we will highlight the most important and relevant economic news, both national and international. We hope that the following article will help you understand and discover events you were not aware of, or deepen your understanding of already known topics.
UK green economy has failed to grow since 2014
According to the official data, the UK’s carbon and renewable energy hasn’t grown since 2014. The Office of National Statistics declared that the figures from 2020 show ‘no significant change’ in turnover and the number of jobs. Employment fell by about 28 000 in the renewable energy and low carbon economy during this period. Frances O’Grady, the TUC general secretary, declared that the UK had the chance to have a great path to net zero, but these chances will be missed out if the ministers don’t step up.
Even though the latest figures do include the year when the coronavirus pandemic started and when the British economy entered into a deep recession, the 2019 figures that were registered before the start of the health emergency, show the decrease of green businesses compared to the ones registered a year earlier.
An increase in jobs was recorded in the low-emissions vehicles and infrastructures, but this was not enough to cover the falls in other sectors. The number of green businesses decreased by 13% and the turnover for the low-carbon sectors fell by almost 6%.
Boris Johnson announced in late 2020 his objective to create 250 000 green jobs, as part of the government’s big plan to hit net zero emissions and recover from the coronavirus pandemic. (Maria Rondolean)
EU economy is forecast to grow by 4.0% in 2022
According to the Winter 2022 Economic Forecast, it is projected that the EU economy will grow by 4.0% in 2022 and by 2.8% in 2023, after an expansion by 5.3% in 2021. The EU as a whole managed to reach its pre-pandemic level of GDP in the third quarter of 2021 and all Member States are projected to pass this milestone by the end of 2022. Although the impact of the pandemic on economic activity has weakened, risks continue to be high as covid measures remain.
As Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy, stated: “Multiple headwinds have chilled Europe’s economy this winter: the swift spread of Omicron, a further rise in inflation driven by soaring energy prices and persistent supply-chain disruptions. With these headwinds expected to fade progressively, we project growth to pick up speed again already this spring.” (Beatrice Isaila)
AUTHORS: Students from MoneyFEST Committee
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