Stephen has worked for over 30 years on many leading climate initiatives at the international, national and sub-national levels. He is an Honorary Professor at the Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions at the Australian National University and Director of Candlebark Mountain Refuge, a 320 acre off-grid sustainable retreat in the Australian snowy mountains. He is on the Board of Directors at the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) Australia. He currently consults to various clients, including as Special Advisor to the federal government on the National Electric Vehicle Strategy. Stephen worked at the senior executive level in government for many years including as Assistant Secretary and General Manager in the Australian Department of Climate Change, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Department of Environment and Heritage, the Australian Greenhouse Office and the Clean Energy Regulator, and as Executive Director Climate Change and Sustainability in the Australian Capital Territory Government, Strategic Advisor NSW Electricity Roadmap Taskforce, Director Climate Resilience and Net Zero Emissions in the NSW Government. Between 2013-16 Stephen was CEO of Beyond Zero Emissions (BZE), an internationally recognised NGO researching zero emissions solutions, and between 2002-2004 worked on climate change issues at the OECD in Paris. Stephen has had the opportunity to lead several significant climate change initiatives in Australia including the design of the mandatory renewable energy target (1997-98), the carbon price (2007-2012), 100% renewables and net zero emissions strategies in the ACT Government (2015-16), as well as Climate Change Fund clean energy initiatives and net zero plan in the NSW Government (2018-21). His PhD, funded by Greenpeace and the ANU in the mid 1990s, looked at models for successful village scale renewable energy adoption in the Pacific Islands. Stephen has held Visiting Professor roles at the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland and the Institute for Environmental Studies at UNSW, as well as Visiting Fellow roles at Melbourne University and ANU.