researching earth history as preserved in strata including shale deposits, funded by BP, Royal Dutch Shell and other energy companies (1978–1989).

He also set up the Verification Technology Information Centre (VERTIC), a technical think tank with the aim to demonstrate how arms control treaties could be verified, and served part-time as its first executive director for four years (1985–1989) during the tail end of the Cold War.

He also served as the first chairman of the Carbon Tracker Initiative,[3] a think tank which was set up to align the capital markets with international climate policymaking (2010–2018).

The goals of the project are to measurably and meaningfully increase the carbon sequestration and biodiversity of the land, to create sustainable nature based employment opportunities in a rural version of the Green New Deal and to generate sustainable and ethical profits to demonstrate a viable new way of land management better for people, nature and the planet.

The project also aims to become a leader in natural capital research to produce high quality, evidence based credits reflecting the increases in carbon sequestration and biodiversity it hopes to achieve on a yearly basis.

After buying the estate in early 2020, Leggett set aside 12 months to confer with a wide range of experts, relevant organisations and the local community.

[17] Leggett has been critical of the lack of reporting by the British mainstream media on the economic imperatives of climate change abatement.

Recently, Leggett has spoken in depth about the great dangers of allowing carbon assets to be viewed at zero risk of impairment if promised action on climate change does take place.

Leggett also states that carbon capture and storage has a "substantial timing problem" as it will take fifteen to twenty years to introduce the technology.