The UK could be facing a green jobs skills crisis, according to green jobs recruiter Acre Resources.

The government’s latest energy and climate change white paper would see 40% of the UK’s energy generated from renewable energy sources by 2020, creating 1.2m new green jobs.

However, results of the first Carbon Salary Survey shows that 37% of those working in climate change jobs in the UK currently are not UK citizens.

Andy Cartland, managing director of Acre Resources, says: “We have seen the global green job market grow steadily in the past 12 months, and while we have seen little growth in traditional technical environmental disciplines, the number of specialist climate change jobs has increased by nearly 50%.

“In some areas the demand for good staff is already outstripping supply; for example, mechanical and electrical engineers within the renewable energy sector.”