Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith
Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith is the Deputy Director and a Senior Research Fellow in Climate Science and the Law at the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme, University of Oxford. His work sits at the intersection of climate science, legal accountability, and financial risk, examining how scientific advances are reshaping accountability in the climate transition.
Trained in climate science, Rupert’s research centres on attribution methods that link greenhouse gas emissions to specific harms, including extreme weather events, public health impacts, and glacial retreat. He studies how this scientific evidence is evaluated in court, particularly in relation to causation, standards of proof, and proportional responsibility.
Rupert has contributed to analysis of landmark proceedings such as Lliuya v RWE, assessing how courts approach arguments that major emitters may bear partial responsibility for climate-related damages. His broader work highlights how developments in climate science are lowering evidentiary barriers and transforming litigation into a material risk factor for corporations, investors, and financial institutions.
In addition to his academic research, Rupert has advised international legal bodies, including the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, on the role of climate science in judicial processes. Through both scholarship and advisory work, he contributes to debates on how legal systems are responding to the physical and financial realities of climate change. His work has been published in journals including Nature Climate Change, Nature Geoscience, and One Earth.
