The UK faces an uneven decarbonisation challenge, with some regions and industries under particular pressure to reduce emissions. Many of the places and communities most acutely affected are also the least equipped to shape transition plans that deliver a good deal for workers.

Yorkshire and the Humber has suffered from decades of industrial decline, but it still relies disproportionately on carbon-intensive industries including steel, cement, chemicals, energy generation, and food and drink production. We find that around 360,000 jobs – 15% of all jobs in the region – are in sectors that have high or very high emissions, meaning that these jobs are likely to be affected by the move to a lowcarbon economy. 1 According to recent research from the Grantham Institute, 260,000 workers across the region have skills that will be in low demand in a low-carbon economy and therefore must upskill or retrain or risk being left behind.2

Workers and trade unions are understandably sceptical of the rhetoric around transition, given that past transitions – notably the decline of mining and manufacturing – have scarred communities and left a trail of social and economic destruction in their wake. This time must be different. The layers of distrust that often characterise inter-regional, inter-movement, and industrial relations must be peeled back by a concerted effort to make this transition fair.