Will AI replace Environmental Economists?

What this score means

Environmental Economists is among the more exposed roles in Research & Science. A large share of the work, especially its routine and text-heavy parts, is already within reach of current AI, though the harder judgment calls still need a person. At 65 out of 100 it scores 24 points above the Research & Science average of 41. Across the 4 sources behind this baseline, individual estimates run from 54 to 78, so the score is a weighted consensus rather than any single figure.

The number is a consensus estimate for the typical version of the role, built from published academic and industry research scored occupation by occupation. It is not a prediction about any individual. How scoring works

What this job actually involves

Exposure follows the work itself rather than the job title, so it is worth seeing what the role is made of. These are the tasks O*NET records for Environmental Economists, most central first, showing 12 of 20.

• 01Write technical documents or academic articles to communicate study results or economic forecasts.
• 02Conduct research on economic and environmental topics, such as alternative fuel use, public and private land use, soil conservation, air and water pollution control, and endangered species protection.
• 03Collect and analyze data to compare the environmental implications of economic policy or practice alternatives.
• 04Assess the costs and benefits of various activities, policies, or regulations that affect the environment or natural resource stocks.
• 05Prepare and deliver presentations to communicate economic and environmental study results, to present policy recommendations, or to raise awareness of environmental consequences.
• 06Develop programs or policy recommendations to achieve environmental goals in cost-effective ways.
• 07Develop economic models, forecasts, or scenarios to predict future economic and environmental outcomes.
• 08Demonstrate or promote the economic benefits of sound environmental regulations.
• 09Conduct research to study the relationships among environmental problems and patterns of economic production and consumption.
• 10Perform complex, dynamic, and integrated mathematical modeling of ecological, environmental, or economic systems.
• 11Write social, legal, or economic impact statements to inform decision makers for natural resource policies, standards, or programs.
• 12Teach courses in environmental economics.

Task statements from O*NET by the National Center for O*NET Development, used under CC BY 4.0. The tasks are descriptive; the exposure score above is ours.

The research behind this score

This baseline aggregates 4 research sources that scored Environmental Economists for AI and automation exposure. More recent, higher confidence studies carry more weight in the final number.

• 01Anthropic Economic Index 2026 - AI Task Exposure · 2026
• 02Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure · 2025
• 03GPTs are GPTs: Labor Market Impact Potential of LLMs · 2024
• 04AI Occupational Exposure to Language Modeling · 2023

Also covers

Agricultural Economist · Ecological Economist · Energy Economist · Environment and Natural Resources Economics Researcher · Environmental Economist · Environmental Protection Economist · Marine Resource Economist · Natural Resource Economist and related titles

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