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Who’s fit for the low-carbon transition? Emerging skills and wage gaps in job and data

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  • Saussay, Aurélien
  • Sato, Misato
  • Vona, Francesco
  • O’Kane, Layla

Abstract

As governments worldwide increase their commitments to tackling climate change, the number of low-carbon jobs are expected to grow rapidly. Here we provide evidence on the characteristics of low-carbon jobs in the US using comprehensive online job postings data between 2010-2019. By accurately identifying low-carbon jobs and comparing them to similar jobs in the same occupational group, we show that low-carbon jobs differ from high-carbon or generic jobs in a number of important ways. Low-carbon jobs have higher skill requirements across a broad range of skills, especially technical ones. However, the wage premium for low-carbon jobs has declined over time and the geographic overlap between low- and high-carbon jobs is limited. Overall, our findings suggest the low-carbon transition entails potentially high labour reallocation costs associated with re-skilling and earning losses, indicating public investments in skills is needed to deliver a smooth and rapid transition.

Suggested Citation

  • Saussay, Aurélien & Sato, Misato & Vona, Francesco & O’Kane, Layla, 2022. "Who’s fit for the low-carbon transition? Emerging skills and wage gaps in job and data," FEEM Working Papers 329079, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:feemwp:329079
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.329079
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    Cited by:

    1. Chao, Chi-Chur & Trinh, Cong Tam & Nguyen, Xuan, 2023. "Carbon neutrality and wage inequality in a sustainable economy: New evidence from business dynamism," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Labor and Human Capital; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies;

    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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