Biography

Sam is Professor of Climate Change Economics and Policy at the Smith School and the School of Geography and the Environment. 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.

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.

Sam was an inaugural member of the UK Climate Change Committee and its Adaptation Sub-Committee, and he served as a non-executive Director of British International Investment, the UK's development finance institution.

Earlier in his career, Sam worked at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), where he was Deputy Chief Economist, the World Bank and the Global Environment Facility. He has studied economics at the University of Berne (Switzerland), the London School of Economics and University College London.

Recent Publications

Jan 2025
Journal
Climate Change Mitigation Policies for Developing Countries
in Review of Environmental Economics and Policy
Juliette Caucheteux ,  Sam Fankhauser ,  Sugandha Srivastav
Oct 2024
Journal
A 10-point plan to scale up renewable energy in the Global South
in Climate Policy
Sam Fankhauser ,  Cameron Hepburn ,  Stephanie Hirmer ,  Tonny Kukeera ,  Dhruv Singh ,  Ingrid Sundvor ,  Philipp A. Trotter ,  Pu Yang
Aug 2024
Journal
Policy support for BECCS and DACCS in Europe: the view of market participants
in Environmental Research Letters
Pu Yang ,  Sam Fankhauser ,  Stephen M. Smith ,  Ingrid Sundvor ,  Stephanie Hirmer ,  Injy Johnstone ,  Joseph Stemmler
Apr 2024
Journal
Turning a groundswell of climate action into ground rules for net zero
in Nature Climate Change
Thomas Hale ,  Thom Wetzer ,  Selam Kidane Abebe ,  Myles Allen ,  Amir Amel-Zadeh ,  John Armour ,  Kaya Axelsson ,  Ben Caldecott ,  Lucilla Dias ,  Sam Fankhauser ,  Benjamin Franta ,  Cameron Hepburn ,  Kennedy Mbeva ,  Lavanya Rajamani ,  Steve Smith ,  Rupert Stuart-Smith
Feb 2024
Journal
Development and transition pathways for fossil fuel-producing low and lower-middle income countries in a carbon-constrained world
in Nature Energy
Vivien Foster ,  Philipp A. Trotter ,  Sven Werner ,  Melin Niedermayer ,  Yacob Mulugetta ,  Ploy Achakulwisut ,  Aoife Brophy ,  Navroz K. Dubash ,  Sam Fankhauser ,  Adam Hawkes ,  Stephanie Hirmer ,  Stuart Jenkins ,  Sam Loni ,  Alexis McGivern ,  Khamphone Nanthavong ,  Benedict Probst ,  Steve Pye ,  Vladimir Russo ,  Gregor Semieniuk ,  Carlos Shenga ,  Vignesh Sridharan ,  Sugandha Srivastav ,  Youba Sokona ,  Lucas Somavilla Croxatto ,  Pu Yang
Sept 2023
Journal
Net zero portfolio targets for development finance institutions: Challenges and solutions
in Global Policy
Sam Fankhauser ,  Sugandha Srivastav ,  Ingrid Sundvor ,  Stephanie Hirmer ,  Gireesh Shrimali
Jul 2023
Briefing
Reforming the Global Financial Architecture to Drive a Resilient Net-Zero Transition
Nicola Ranger ,  Brian O'Callaghan ,  Fulvia Marotta ,  Sam Fankhauser
Dec 2021
Journal
The meaning of net zero and how to get it right
in Nature Climate Change
Sam Fankhauser ,  Stephen M. Smith ,  Myles Allen ,  Kaya Axelsson ,  Thomas Hale ,  Cameron Hepburn ,  J. Michael Kendall ,  Radhika Khosla ,  Javier Lezaun ,  Eli Mitchell-Larson ,  Michael Obersteiner ,  Lavanya Rajamani ,  Rosalind Rickaby ,  Nathalie Seddon ,  Thom Wetzer
Jan 2012
Paper
The surrender charge on international units in the Australian ETS
Cameron Hepburn ,  Sarah Chapman ,  Baran Doda ,  Chris Duffy ,  Samuel Fankhauser ,  James Rydge ,  Kathryn Smith ,  Luca Taschini ,  Alessandro Vitelli
Dec 2010
Journal
Combining multiple climate policy instruments: how not to do it
Cameron Hepburn ,  Samuel Fankhauser ,  Jisung Park
Aug 2010
Journal
Aug 2010
Journal
View All Related Publications

Recent Events

21 Jan 25
@12:30

Panel discussion: 'Post-COP29 Debrief: Reflections on a divisive deal'

Oxford Martin School Lectures

Sam Fankhauser, Thomas Hale, Injy Johnstone, Jodi-Ann Wang, Ushika Kidd & Flora Prideaux

Online Event
Fankhauser