Just Transition in the UK: Bridging climate ambition and worker voice

This blog post was authored by a human with the assistance of Microsoft Copilot (GPT5), an AI writing tool, to help structure and articulate the content. It is based on research and analysis presented in “UK Case Report: Trade unions, climate policy and just transition in the UK”. This report was produced as part of the “Just Transitions: A Global Exploration” project, funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation and led by Professor Vera Trappmann. All interpretations and summaries in this blog post reflect the original human-authored research and report. 

The UK has long positioned itself as a global leader on climate action, embedding legally binding emissions targets through the landmark Climate Change Act (2008). Since then, ambition has increased: the UK has committed to net zero by 2050, alongside interim reduction targets of 68% by 2030 and over 80% by 2035.

Yet progress towards these goals has been uneven. While emissions have fallen significantly - around 50% below 1990 levels by 2024 - policy delivery remains fragmented, with gaps in funding, implementation and coherence across sectors such as transport, buildings, and industry.

Against this backdrop, the question of a just transition - ensuring that the shift to a low-carbon economy benefits workers and communities - has become increasingly urgent. Trade unions have been central advocates of this agenda. However, their influence on UK climate policymaking remains limited, particularly at the national level, with more meaningful engagement emerging only in devolved contexts like Scotland and Wales.

Our research draws on 27 in-depth interviews with trade union officers and climate experts conducted between spring 2023 and autumn 2024, alongside a review of UK government and union policy documents. The findings reveal a complex and evolving role for trade unions.

Key findings: A fragmented but evolving role for unions

1. Limited influence in national climate policymaking

Despite a long history of engagement with environmental issues, UK trade unions have largely been marginalised in formal climate governance. Union participation tends to be confined to ad hoc consultations or advisory bodies, where their influence is often overshadowed by business interests. 

This exclusion reflects broader features of the UK’s liberal market economy, where policymaking relies heavily on market mechanisms and minimises structured social dialogue.

However, at the devolved level, different political frameworks have enabled greater inclusion. The Scottish Just Transition Commission and Welsh Social Partnership Council provide important - though still evolving - platforms for incorporating worker voice into climate policy.

2. Strong convergence - and divergence - within the union movement

UK unions broadly agree on key priorities:

• public investment in green infrastructure
• creation of high-quality “green jobs”
• stronger worker protections
• expanded training and skills provision
• a more active state role in industrial strategy.

However, there is significant internal contestation.

A key divide exists between “energy unions” (e.g. GMB, UNITE, Prospect), which prioritise protecting workers in high-carbon sectors, and other unions -particularly in the public sector -that advocate a broader, more inclusive transition.

These tensions play out across three dimensions:

• Scope: Should just transition focus on energy and industrial workers, or all sectors?
• Scale: Should action be driven at workplace, regional or national level?
• Depth: Is transition primarily technological, or does it require wider socio-economic transformation? 

3. Workplace innovation: ‘Green bargaining’ and practical experimentation

In the absence of strong national institutions, unions have increasingly turned to the workplace and local level.

One notable development is “green bargaining” - integrating climate and transition issues into collective bargaining agreements. This includes:

• negotiating retraining and redeployment pathways
• shaping company-level transition plans
• influencing skills investment and workforce planning.

While such examples remain limited, they signal a shift towards more proactive union engagement in shaping industrial transformation.

At a regional level, unions are also participating in experimental governance mechanisms such as the Yorkshire and Humber Climate Commission, embedding just transition principles into local climate action planning.

4. Structural barriers: Skills, policy fragmentation and uneven investment

A recurring theme is the misalignment between climate ambition and institutional capacity.

The UK skills system is identified as a major bottleneck, characterised by:

• fragmented training and accreditation systems
• insufficient funding for further education
• barriers to mobility between sectors (e.g. oil and gas to renewables).

Unions have proposed solutions such as “skills passports” to enable smoother transitions between sectors, alongside stronger public investment in training infrastructure.

At the same time, reliance on market-led policy frameworks has created uncertainty for both workers and businesses, limiting long-term planning and investment in low-carbon industries.

Implications for business: Planning for a worker-centred transition

For businesses, the findings underline the importance of anticipating and engaging with workforce implications of decarbonisation.

First, companies should recognise that the transition is not just technological but organisational. This means:

• involving employees and unions in transition planning
• investing in reskilling and workforce development
• ensuring job quality and security during restructuring.

Second, policy uncertainty remains a key challenge. Firms consistently signal the need for clear and stable policy frameworks to support investment in low-carbon technologies and supply chains.

Third, there are growing expectations around fair work and local economic benefits. Initiatives such as supply chain localisation, public procurement standards, and “clean industry” requirements are likely to shape future business environments.

Engaging constructively with unions can therefore help businesses navigate these pressures while building more resilient and inclusive transition strategies.

Implications for policy: From ambition to delivery

For policymakers, the report identifies a critical gap between climate targets and implementation.

Three priorities emerge:

1. Institutionalising worker voice
There is a clear need for more structured mechanisms, such as a national just transition body, to embed unions and worker representatives in climate policymaking.

2. Aligning industrial and skills policy with net zero goals
Transition strategies must integrate skills development, regional investment, and industrial policy, rather than treating them as separate domains.

3. Moving beyond market-led approaches
A more interventionist approach - combining public investment, regulation and social dialogue - is required to deliver both climate goals and social justice outcomes.

Without these changes, there is a risk that “just transition” remains rhetorical rather than transformative.

Conclusion: A just transition still in the making

The UK case reveals a paradox. While climate ambition is high, the institutional foundations for delivering a just transition remain underdeveloped.

Trade unions have responded with innovation - through workplace bargaining, regional alliances, and new forms of collaboration - but these efforts are fragmented and often constrained by limited resources and influence.

As the UK advances towards net zero, the challenge is clear: aligning climate policy with social justice requires not only technological change, but also new forms of governance that place workers at the heart of the transition.