Fossil Free Stanford is currently focused on limiting fossil fuel companies’ influence in Stanford’s forthcoming School of Sustainability and Climate. We believe that fossil fuel funding would create an inherent conflict of interest for the School, as fossil fuel companies’ primary sources of revenue are the very products that must be phased out in order to tackle climate change.

 

While fossil fuel companies have changed their tune, publicly voicing their commitment to fighting climate change, their actions suggest otherwise. Fossil fuel companies continue to burn oil and gas at a record pace; in fact, they plan to increase fossil fuel production by 7% over the next four years.

 

For these reasons, we published an open letter to Stanford’s president, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, in which we demand the Stanford School of Sustainability and Climate adopt the following standards:
 

1. The School of Sustainability and Climate will not accept gifts or form research partnerships with any fossil fuel companies.

2. All funding sources for research in the School of Sustainability and Climate will be publicly acknowledged, both in published papers and in any website or news promotion of the research.

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