FW: new research on the failure of university policies to protect against academic capture and climate obstruction and delay
Stacy VanDeveer
Stacy D. VanDeveer
Professor of Global Governance and Human Security & Graduate Program Director
Dept of Conflict Resolution, Human Security and Global Governance,
McCormack School of Policy & Global Studies, UMass Boston, USA
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Date: Thursday, April 30, 2026 at 5:49 AM
To: 'Vanessa Bowden' via Climate Social Science Network Discussion Group <cssn...@brown.edu>
Subject: [CSSN] new research on the failure of university policies to protect against academic capture and climate obstruction and delay
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Hi All,
Just published in Climatic Change - our new research shows how universities are failing to protect against academic capture and climate obstruction. In collaboration with colleagues at York University, we analysed the university policies of the Ivy League universities in the US and Russell Group in the UK and compared the policies with media discourse about the risks of fossil fuel industry funding of climate research in higher education. This could be helpful to those advocating for divestment, disassociation and other changes to university policies and practices so please circulate widely to students and colleagues. Beyond the fossil fuel industry, the same risks, tactics and inadequate university policies are relevant to other sectors including tech, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, etc..
Thanks,
Jennie
Ceccon, C, T Dordi & JC Stephens (2026). "A tale of two discourses: fossil fuel funding in UK and US university policy vs. Public debate." Climatic Change 179(5): 103. OPEN ACCESS
As the climate crisis intensifies, fossil fuel industry funding of academic research faces increasing scrutiny. This research examines the complex interplay between fossil fuel funding, corporate capture, and academic integrity in higher education, uncovering how public discourse frames industry funding as a mechanism of climate obstruction and delay. Employing a comparative approach, we analyse how fossil fuel funding is addressed in institutional policies versus public discourse across the UK and US, while investigating the emerging Fossil Free Research movement and its parallels with Fossil Fuel Divestment campaigns. Our findings reveal a significant disparity between public discourse and institutional governance approaches to fossil fuel funding, highlighting the pervasive presence of climate delay discourse and disinformation within academia. We identify country-specific differences between the UK and US shaped by their distinct higher education systems, while underscoring the need for policy reforms that protect transparency, research integrity, and academic freedom. The study concludes that these mechanisms of influence transcend fossil fuel funding, revealing how corporate interests across industries - from chemical and pharmaceutical to agriculture and technology sectors - systematically shape academic research to serve the profit-seeking interests of the private sector rather than the interests of the public, particularly in climate-related fields. Thus, we emphasise the imperative for higher education institutions to adopt stronger policies protecting the integrity of climate research and its crucial role in societal decision-making and reclaiming the public mission of higher education.
Jennie C. Stephens, PhD
Professor of Climate Justice / Ollamh le Ceartas Aeráide
Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co Kildare, Ireland / Ollscoil Mhá Nuad, Maigh Nuad, Co. Chill Dara, Éire.
Co-Convenor of Coordinating Team Climate Justice Universities Union
Website: jenniecstephens.com Email: jennie....@mu.ie
Books
Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment, Co-Lead Author of Ch 13 Oxford University Press, 2025
Climate Justice and the University: Shaping a Hopeful Future for All, Hopkins University Press, 2024
Diversifying Power: Why We Need Antiracist, Feminist Leadership on Climate and Energy, Island Press, 2020
Recent Publications
Time has Come for Exnovation Away from Fossil Fuels, Irish Times, 2026
Feminist Climate Justice Offers Antidote to Petro-Masculinity Irish Times. 2026
Renewable Energy Discourses of Fossil Fuel Companies: Obstruction & Delay of Climate Action, Energy, Sustainability and Society. 2026
Gender Equity and Care for Transformative Climate Justice. Administration 2025
Fossil Fuel Industry Influence in Higher Education. WIREs Climate Change. 2024
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