(3 minute read)
The University of Cambridge is poised to become the first higher education institution in the world to hold a democratic vote of academics on whether to end research and sponsorship partnerships with fossil fuel companies violating key climate criteria.
Fossil fuel funding vote
84 senior academics have submitted a proposal to the Regent House, the governing body of the University, for the University Council – the University’s principal executive and decision-making body – to agree a policy of no longer accepting research funding, sponsorship or other collaborations with companies if they meet one or more of the following criteria:
- They are constructing, or facilitating the construction of, new fossil fuel infrastructure.
- They are engaged in exploring, or facilitating the exploration of, new fossil fuel reserves.
- They retain memberships with trade associations engaged in political lobbying against science‑based climate legislation.
The proposal also includes a recommendation that the University’s fundraising department, CUDAR, should conduct fundraising and development activities in order to replace funding which has traditionally been derived from companies which meet these criteria.
The proposal cites warnings from the world’s top climate scientists and energy experts that there can be no new fossil fuel infrastructure or exploration if the world is to limit heating to the critical 1.5°C threshold. Conversely, the world’s dozen largest oil companies are planning to spend $103 million (£85 million) a day for the rest of the decade on new oil and gas projects.
It also references the millions that fossil fuel giants pay in membership fees to trade associations like the American Petroleum Institute, who work to stall science-based climate legislation and accelerate fossil fuel expansion.
Following the success of the fossil fuel divestment movement in the US and UK (with more than half of British Universities committing to divest their endowments from fossil fuel companies, including Cambridge in 2020), focus has increasingly turned to Universities’ continued research collaborations with the industry.
Years of intense pressure
This first-of-its-kind move follows years of intense pressure from students, academics and local community groups, who have long called for the University to end its multiple, long-standing partnerships with the fossil fuel industry.
East Anglia Bylines reported how in May, dozens of students and academics stepped up pressure on the University by occupying its BP Institute, which was founded with a £22 million endowment donation from the oil and gas giant. Shortly after, we also reported the University was poised to remove BP’s name from the Institute – a move criticised by Fossil Free Research and other local campaign groups for its failure to address the Institute’s ongoing acceptance of Big Oil funding.
Cambridge University has a number of other fossil fuel industry partnerships. An investigation by The Guardian and Open Democracy found that Cambridge had accepted £14 million from oil giants in the 4 years between 2017 and 2021, accepting more than any other UK University other than Imperial College London.
Fossil Free Research campaign
Fossil Free Research said: “We welcome this move, which follows years of sustained campaigning by local community groups, students, academics and the growing international movement for Fossil Free Research, and urge all academics to vote in favour of this proposal. As they weigh their decision – we hope they will hold in their minds those who do not have a vote in this ballot, but for whom its outcome will be decisive: from the frontline communities in the Global South already experiencing devastating climate impacts to the students and young people whose futures hang in the balance.
“If our universities are to produce independent, credible climate research that protects academic freedom and addresses the climate emergency, institutions like Cambridge must urgently end Big Oil’s capture of higher education institutions. We hope others soon follow.”
Subject to the procedural approval of the University Council, the proposal will now proceed to a ballot during the autumn term, where more than 6,000 senior academics will have the opportunity to cast their vote.
