Fossil Fuel Funds for University Research in the Transition to Clean Energy

Abstract

The central question addressed in this research-based argument is whether the widespread practice among top U.S. universities of accepting fossil fuel funds for research supports or inhibits the transition to clean energy. Stanford University is used as the central example, given the growing momentum of the Coalition for a True School of Sustainability, which calls for the end of fossil fuel funding at the recently opened Doerr School of Sustainability. To begin with, the commonly argued benefits of the practice are presented and supported. The implications and impacts of these funds are then analyzed, drawing on various statistics and other pieces of evidence from a plethora of sources, principally peer-reviewed academic journals and reputable news articles. More specifically, the sustainability campaigns, clean energy investments, and lobbying efforts of mainly four major fossil fuel companies are detailed, examined, and compared. Following this background on such corporations, the actual consequences of the funds on research are assessed, highlighting the topics and the funds’ influences on Stanford’s industry affiliate programs. Ultimately, this paper has found that fossil-fuel research contributes to the greenwashing of both the donor fossil fuel companies as well as the Doerr School of Sustainability, slowing rather than supporting society’s transition to clean energy. Thereby, this paper concludes with the proposal of a realistic solution–actions Stanford and universities can take to end the negative influences of fossil-fuel money in research. There is a final brief call to action, which conveys the implied need for activism to effect change.