This project seeks to analyse empirically the dynamics of changes in the nature of work to capture the various facets of structural change related to environmental sustainability such as industry decline and emergence, renewal of core competences and remodelling of institutions. The analysis proposed here seeks to offer an entry point into the core of these questions, with a focus on European regions. The main questions are three. First, what skills are relevant for innovation? Second, what are the effects of innovation on the composition of the workforce? Third is the question of whether and to what extent these transformations trigger geographical inequality, especially in Europe. On the whole, the main motivation of this proposal is the acknowledgement that empirical analysis on these issues is still scant, and the belief that such a gap poses significant obstacles to the identification of problems and to the design of policy.