The Task Exposure Indexv2026.Q3
Occupation · SOC 19-2041.01 · Job Zone 5

AI exposure: Climate Change Policy Analysts

Research and analyze policy developments related to climate change. Make climate-related recommendations for actions such as legislation, awareness campaigns, or fundraising approaches.

Reading this score

computed

52.1% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Climate Change Policy Analysts at the 90th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 3.3 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.

What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 14 tasks it averages 2.07 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.

The most exposed thing this job does is Gather and review climate-related studies from government agencies, research laboratories, and..., at 73.3%. The least is Review existing policies or legislation to identify environmental impacts, at 40.0%. A gap of 33.3% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.

Within life, physical and social science occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 60 roles in the group is 35.8%, and only 1 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.

What would move this score. Of 14 tasks, 14 are currently banded exposed, 0 assisted and 0 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.

Task by task

14 tasks, O*NET 31.0
TaskExposedAssistedUntouchedImportanceBand
Gather and review climate-related studies from government agencies, research laboratories, and other organizations.73.3%26.7%0.0%4.09exposed
Prepare grant applications to obtain funding for programs related to climate change, environmental management, or sustainability.73.3%26.7%0.0%3.55exposed
Present climate-related information at public interest, governmental, or other meetings.66.7%33.3%0.0%4.17exposed
Present and defend proposals for climate change research projects.58.3%29.2%12.5%3.61exposed
Analyze and distill climate-related research findings to inform legislators, regulatory agencies, or other stakeholders.55.4%32.1%12.5%4.30exposed
Develop, or contribute to the development of, educational or outreach programs on the environment or climate change.55.0%20.0%25.0%3.74exposed
Propose new or modified policies involving use of traditional and alternative fuels, transportation of goods, and other factors relating to climate and climate change.50.0%25.0%25.0%4.45exposed
Prepare study reports, memoranda, briefs, testimonies, or other written materials to inform government or environmental groups on environmental issues, such as climate change.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.30exposed
Make legislative recommendations related to climate change or environmental management, based on climate change policies, principles, programs, practices, and processes.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.27exposed
Promote initiatives to mitigate climate change with government or environmental groups.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.09exposed
Research policies, practices, or procedures for climate or environmental management.45.0%30.0%25.0%4.00exposed
Write reports or academic papers to communicate findings of climate-related studies.45.0%30.0%25.0%3.83exposed
Provide analytical support for policy briefs related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, or climate change.40.0%35.0%25.0%4.78exposed
Review existing policies or legislation to identify environmental impacts.40.0%35.0%25.0%4.09exposed

Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.

Where the score comes from

judged

Every task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.

DimensionMeanScale
Capability3.290-4
Embodiment0.210-3
Presence0.430-3
Accountability1.110-3
Context2.070-3
Verification cost1.640-3

What this means in practice

Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.

Occupations either side of this one

The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.

Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.