Stanford University on Thursday rejected calls from hundreds of students, faculty and alumni to stop accepting research funding from fossil fuel companies, saying it needs to collaborate with the oil industry to find solutions to the climate crisis.
The decision is a blow to the more than 900 Stanford-affiliated people who urged the university to refuse fossil fuel money because of the industry’s role in creating the global climate crisis and in opposing policies to alleviate it.
The decision was made by a review committee created in December 2022 in response to concerns about the oil industry’s influence on campus, particularly at the university’s climate-focused school that opened in September 2022. The Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability is one of the nation’s largest and best-funded academic institutions focused on accelerating solutions to global warming.
Stanford’s decision to continue accepting money from oil companies comes as the industry faces increased legal and congressional scrutiny over its contribution to climate change.
