Labor Transitions in a Net-Zero Era by Liuhuaying Yang

As the U.S. power sector transitions to a net-zero emissions system, labor market dynamics shift, creating skill mismatches and labor mobility frictions. This project visualizes the findings of a research paper in collaboration with INET Oxford on the impact of these changes across 539 occupations in 11 categories. Using the metaphor of an orchard garden to symbolize the dynamics and exchanges in the job market, the visualization communicates complex research insights in a more accessible and engaging format, offering a hopeful vision for a green transition.
Through a visual narrative and an interactive dashboard, the project focuses on the 'scale-up' and 'scale-down' phases of the transition. In the scale-up phase, demand for labor rises as renewable energy systems are rapidly built. In the scale-down phase, demand decreases as the focus shifts to maintaining the existing system. The visualization highlights which occupations will consistently grow, which will temporarily increase and then decline, and which will see a permanent drop in demand.
Occupations are grouped into categories, and the transition between them is structured by three levels of ease, showing how easily workers can shift from one occupation to another. Some occupations can transition across categories, while others tend to remain within their own category. By interacting with the occupation nodes in the dashboard, it's possible to see how many mobility options each occupation has, illustrating the flexibility or constraints workers may face during this transition. This helps to understand where displaced workers can move to, ensuring smoother labor market adjustments in the shift to a net-zero economy.