Image: © Firn/Stock.adobe.com
The fossil fuel industry is deploying strategies similar to pharma and tobacco in aligning with research institutions to legitimise their image and potentially influence research outputs.
New research has highlighted the deep ties between the fossil fuel industry and universities and argues that the fossil industry is using these links to delay climate action.
“Since 2003, when I first realised fossil fuel companies were funding climate and energy research in universities, I have been concerned with how higher education is being used by industry to slow down fossil fuel phase-out and increase their profits,” said study co-author Prof Jennie Stephens, professor of climate justice at the Icarus Climate Research Centre in Maynooth University.
The peer-reviewed study published yesterday (5 September) argues that in an era of widespread decline of public funding and increased “corporatisation” of universities, the fossil fuel industry has become “significantly intertwined with higher education around the world”.
Examining both peer-reviewed literature and non-peer-reviewed research reports from nonprofits and advocacy groups, the study shows the myriad ways fossil fuel companies have embedded themselves in universities, including by sponsoring academic research centres and academic posts, advising on course content and serving on university governing boards.
There are many obvious benefits for fossil companies in that the links to universities lend them legitimacy and trust which allows them to greenwash their image, reduces corporate tax burdens through educational contributions and reduces employment costs by effectively training future staff through universities.
However, a more insidious benefit is the potential to further “discourses of climate delay”, whereby, according to the researchers, “fossil-fuel companies effectively forestall action by supporting innovation (and employment pipelines) that facilitates continued fossil-fuel exploration and production” and perpetuate technological optimism by sponsoring “economically or technologically unproven technologies, such as carbon capture and storage”.
The researchers note the similarities in the tactics used by the fossil industry with the tobacco, pharmaceutical and junk food industries, with overwhelming evidence showing how these industries sponsored research with favourable outcomes for their products.
One example cited by the study of the ways that fossil fuel companies can benefit from ties to academia is the case of Exxon Mobile, which funded a Harvard Law School professor to write a piece against punitive damages at a time when the company was appealing a $5bn punitive damages award after the Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill in Alaska. In legal proceedings, when Exxon attorneys cited Exxon-funded research, they didn’t mention the funding connection, thus likely giving the impression that the research was objective.
Exxon of course was the subject of a major investigation by Inside Climate News, the Los Angeles Times and Columbia University in 2015 which revealed that the company had known about the causes and dangers of climate change since at least the 1970s, but had denied the science or emphasised uncertainties for decades to continue with business as usual.
With research examining these connections between the fossil fuel industry and higher education institutions being very limited to date, this new study focused on just four major polluting countries – the US, UK, Canada and Australia. The researchers urge scholars to “engage urgently” in further research to examine the potential conflicts of interest to arise from these links, and how this influences climate research strategies and outputs.
They also decry the lack of transparency from universities regarding funding amounts and contract details about their deals with fossil fuel companies. “We call on universities around the world to disclose their financial and contractual ties with fossil fuel companies.
“The academic integrity of higher education is at risk.”
Trinity’s ties to CRH
While important to note that this research does not examine this issue in an Irish context, the recent establishment of the CRH chair of climate science position at Trinity College Dublin highlights its relevance for Ireland.
Last month, it was announced that Prof Karen Wiltshire has been appointed as the inaugural CRH chair of climate science at Trinity. CRH, the owners of Irish Cement, will fund the position for 10 years. Irish Cement was Ireland’s third largest industrial emitter of CO2 last year.
The announcement of the new position was met with criticism by some, with Trinity’s student union president calling in “greenwashing”.
Prof Wiltshire spoke to Times Higher Education to address the controversy, and argued that industry collaboration is urgently needed to tackle the climate crisis. “We’re on a trajectory which is so incredibly fast. If all these conglomerates didn’t fund stuff, we really would be up the creek without a paddle,” she said.
“We need to keep a wary eye on what’s going on, and we need to be critical – but we should not be so naïve as to think we can get away with funding this out of the back of someone’s garden shed.”
In response to a query from SiliconRepublic.com, a Trinity spokesperson reiterated the comments they made at the time of the appointment. “CRH will not influence the research undertaken by the chair of climate science,” the spokesperson said.
“Trinity warmly welcomes CRH’s support for the chair of climate science. We also look forward to the impactful research that will emerge from this position.”
In 2016, Trinity announced its plan to divest from fossil-fuel investments in response to a student-led campaign, making it the first university in Ireland to do so.
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