Will AI replace Environmental Economists?
AI can do 100% of the work Environmental Economists do at least twice as fast. People already use it for 2 of their 20 tasks, while 18 more are ready but barely used so far.
AI is already doing this2 · 22% of time
People already use AI for these tasks in real work, based on Anthropic's analysis of how Claude is used.
- Write technical documents or academic articles to communicate study results or economic forecasts.Mostly automated15% of time
- Develop economic models, forecasts, or scenarios to predict future economic and environmental outcomes.Mostly automated7% of time
AI could do this next18 · 78% of time
AI can speed these up by at least half, but real use has not caught up yet. These are next in line.
- Assess the costs and benefits of various activities, policies, or regulations that affect the environment or natural resource stocks.10% of time
- Collect and analyze data to compare the environmental implications of economic policy or practice alternatives.9% of time
- Conduct 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.9% of time
- Prepare and deliver presentations to communicate economic and environmental study results, to present policy recommendations, or to raise awareness of environmental consequences.6% of time
- Conduct research to study the relationships among environmental problems and patterns of economic production and consumption.5% of time
- Develop programs or policy recommendations to achieve environmental goals in cost-effective ways.5% of time
- Teach courses in environmental economics.5% of time
- Monitor or analyze market and environmental trends.4% of time
- Write social, legal, or economic impact statements to inform decision makers for natural resource policies, standards, or programs.4% of time
- Write research proposals and grant applications to obtain private or public funding for environmental and economic studies.4% of time
- Perform complex, dynamic, and integrated mathematical modeling of ecological, environmental, or economic systems.4% of time
- Demonstrate or promote the economic benefits of sound environmental regulations.2% of time
- Examine the exhaustibility of natural resources or the long-term costs of environmental rehabilitation.2% of time
- Develop systems for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting environmental and economic data.2% of time
- Develop environmental research project plans, including information on budgets, goals, deliverables, timelines, and resource requirements.2% of time
- Develop programs or policy recommendations to promote sustainability and sustainable development.2% of time
- Interpret indicators to ascertain the overall health of an environment.1% of time
- Identify and recommend environmentally friendly business practices.1% of time
Still needs a person0 · 0% of time
No real AI use, no proven AI speedup and no robot that can do it yet. This is the part of the job to build on.
- Every task in this job is touched by AI or robots in some way.
Your week is not the average
Describe what you actually do and get a personal report: your own tasks, what AI can already do, what stays yours and a 90 day plan.
What this means
AI can already do almost all of this work at least twice as fast. Real use is still behind at 20 out of 100, so the change here is only getting started. Expect the role to shift toward deciding what to do, checking AI's work and owning the result.
What to do next
- Do the 2 tasks AI is already handling with AI yourself. Your peers already are, and it is quickly becoming the baseline.
- Get ahead on the 18 tasks AI could do next. These move as tools improve, so learning them early pays off.
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