Why aren't climate jobs being proposed as a viable transition role post AI?

That's because of the current paradigm of status and success chasing that is driven solely by marketing. Marketing will hit a wall and it won't beat actual suffering faced in the wake of quality of life decline. People are still a little cozy right now so they buy into hype but when their belly is rumbling , what is bought is what exists at the lowest price , its the only vector that matters.

When James from HR actually gets unemployed for an extended period of time and lose his yuppie status, and has to suffer , he will count his blessings that all he has to do for work is "urban cleaning" and can dilly dally with free internet / subsidized utilities in the remainder of his time or you know - join a club , meet people and become human again.

Without a doubt - "quality of life"/everyone gets a pickup truck or a $10 000 bike if they save up real hard is going to dip.

But I see this as a market correction - western lifestyle was always inflated in nature/high consumption. The average dude in south america lives on what , a $1 a day? Nobody will be able to afford inflated products / industries at inflated prices- true cost will begin to be reflected more and more in the market.

But EVERYONE will have to take the hit / eat the loss , so there won't necessarily be as much shame in being an urban cleaner , everyone on the inside understands you did what you have to do to survive.