Dr Steve Smith is based at Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, leading new research programmes on greenhouse gas removal and net zero emissions. Before joining the Smith School in 2020 he co-led the team of climate scientists in the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). There he played key roles in the legislation of the UK net zero emissions target, developing the government's approach to greenhouse gas removal and overseeing a multi-million pound portfolio of research.

Steve has a PhD in atmospheric physics and is a fellow of both the Royal Meteorological Society and of the Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy. His research is highly interdisciplinary and decision-focused. He has published papers in leading academic journals on topics such as the co-benefits of climate policies and metrics for comparing emissions of different gases.