Fossil ties in the new academic year: research with responsibility

Today marks the start of a new academic year. Last year, a string of universities took decisions on whether to cut ties with the fossil fuel industry. The VU was first in April, a few months later, at the end of a series of discussions and debates open to students and staff, Universiteit van Amsterdam and Universiteit Utrecht published their decisions. At Maastricht University, who also made a statement, these discussions will start in the new academic year.

‘Universities lend legitimacy’

A key argument of those campaigning for cutting ties with the fossil fuel industry is that working with fossil fuel companies - conducting research for and with them, allowing them at careers fairs - lends them legitimacy (a social licence to operate) in the eyes of the public. This legitimacy is undeserved, campaigners argue, because such companies mislead the public and world leaders about their climate ambitions, delaying real climate action at a time when the window of opportunity for staying under 1.5°`C warming is rapidly closing. Many such companies are also involved in human rights abuses. Having these companies on campus - campaigners say - shows tacit approval of this and allows these companies to present a one-sided story to students.?

'Commitment to Paris Agreement is key’

Based on this or similar reasoning, two universities have decided to cut ties with fossil fuel companies which do not commit to the objectives of the Paris agreement. The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) qualifies this with “in the short term”, which appears to exclude all major companies which continue prospecting for coal, oil or gas: a broad consensus of independent research finds that opening new oil and gas fields are incompatible with Paris goals. Universiteit Utrecht includes organisations as well as companies (possibly including lobby groups like Element NL , or research institutions such as 法国石油研究所 ), and requires them to be “intensively and demonstrably committed to accelerating the energy transition” - a definition to be further worked out in collaboration with staff and students.

'No fossil collaborations, except...’

Universiteit van Amsterdam also issued a statement. Although declaring “we will not accept sponsorship from Shell or other companies from the fossil fuel industry”, they also outline the conditions under which they would work together with them: that the project works towards the energy transition, and that the research could otherwise not be carried out. This is a significantly smaller break with the status quo for three reasons.?

In the first instance, even projects that on the surface seem to work towards the energy transition may serve a fossil fuel agenda. For example, research at 荷兰代尔夫特理工大学 investigated renewable energy methods such as floating wind turbines and wave energy converters - for use in offshore oil drilling.

The condition that cooperation is acceptable if research could otherwise not be carried out is also a double-edged sword. While situations can arise where this could be useful (e.g. access to windfarm data - several fossil companies also own windfarms) it also allows systematic influence of fossil fuel companies: such companies can make resources, data or equipment available for research that aligns with, or is least disruptive to, their corporate strategy - skewing the body of research towards these technologies. An example of such technologies is Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): a much higher percentage of funding comes from oil and gas companies than other “green” technologies - and this is logical. CCS can allow companies to make the argument to continue operations as usual. In many cases, for example electricity generation, the business case for CCS doesn't stand up against renewable alternatives. ( International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) )

Non-financial collaborations also need attention

Finally, UvA may choose not to accept money from fossil fuel companies. However, a lot of ties between universities and fossil fuel companies are not in the form of donations or direct funding. For example, executives of 埃克森美孚 and bp are in the Sustainable Industry Lab , working on “academic and policy papers” alongside academics from Eindhoven University of Technology , Radboud University , MU, UvA and UU. Another example is in-kind contributions: UU has three agreements for the loan of equipment from fossil fuel organisations, according to their transparency report. Such in-kind contributions are as much of a research collaboration as direct funding, and under the UU’s new rules, it looks likely that this would not be allowed (whether continued work in the Sustainable Industry Lab would also count as a research collaboration is not 100% clear).

Need for clear collaboration criteria

Maastricht’s statement states that they are “open to cooperation with parties that are actively working on transitioning, but are still part of the fossil fuel system, especially if no alternatives are available”. Here it will be interesting to see how the university determines who is and is not working on transitioning. Does a capital expenditure of 1.5% on renewables count? And what does it mean, if no alternatives are available?

They also state that “acutely stopping the use of fossil fuels, for example, would collapse our entire food and healthcare systems, among other things. Phasing out is a process of years, even decades.” This is irrelevant to the discussion around working with the fossil industry: cutting ties with fossil fuel companies will not directly impact use of fossil fuels, but campaigners hope that it will affect these companies’ legitimacy in the eyes of the public (social licence to operate) and ability to present a one-sided story to students.?

More discussions (and action?) ahead

However, the publication of a statement announcing a dialogue and intention to act on it signals a commitment from MU to engage with this topic.?In the new academic year, while Maastricht conducts its dialogue, almost every university in the Netherlands will be doing the same: 荷兰莱顿大学 has recently published its ties with the fossil industry ahead of an open debate on 27 September. With student and staff - and therefore action groups - now back from holidays, 2023-2024 promises to be a year of much soul-searching for the Dutch academic world.?