Changing workforce dynamics under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme: job profiles and the color of the collar

After an unexpected policy intervention in 2017, the price of emission permits in the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) saw an upward trend, rendering polluting activities significantly more costly. Prior literature documents that emission-intensive firms have internalized this cost-increase in part by dismissing employees. Exploiting the unique reporting environment in Belgium, we investigate changes in employment composition in unseen detail. Our findings highlight significant reductions in the number of blue-collar, male employees, largely employed under part-time contracts. Moreover, lower educated employees are affected to a greater extent. Our findings help lay bare employment consequences of climate policy interventions.