Sam works at the intersection of research and public policy. He is interested in the policy interventions and governance arrangements that are needed for a smooth transition to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. He has also worked on climate change adaptation and sustainable growth in developing countries.

Before moving to Oxford, Sam was Director of the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics, where he remains a Visiting Professor. Outside academia, Sam is an Associate Director of economics consultancy Vivid Economics. He was an inaugural member of the UK Climate Change Committee and its Adaptation Sub-Committee, and he served as a non-executive Director of CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution.