On the this edition of Your Call's One Planet Series, we discuss a major investigation by ProPublica and Drilled exposing how the fossil fuel industry has shaped the global response to climate change by pouring billions of dollars into research at elite universities. Since the 1990s, oil companies have funded research centers, opened offices on campuses, and paid the salaries of scientists.
The investigation details how BP sponsored an elite Princeton research center to address the climate problem without getting off fossil fuels by handpicking scientists aligned with their interests. BP extended its funding for Princeton’s Carbon Mitigation Initiative three times. It was originally slated to sunset in 2010, but was renewed through 2015, then 2020, and finally until 2025. All told, the company gave Princeton’s program more than $56 million.
Guests:
Katie Worth, award-winning climate reporter at ProPublica
Maddie Stone, award-winning science journalist
Naomi Oreskes, professor of the History of Science at Harvard University, and author of several books, including Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming and The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market
Resources:
ProPublica: Beyond Denial
Science: Managing the pitfalls of private money
The Guardian: Elite US universities rake in millions from big oil donations, research finds
The Guardian: Majority of US voters link extreme weather to climate crisis, study finds
