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Writer's pictureQuinlan Grim

Despite Pushback, Stanford Refuses to Cut Fossil Fuel Ties

A shot of the Doerr School from Stanford Magazine.

In case you missed the recent article on the front page of The Mercury News, we have an update on the push for divestment at Stanford. As of now, the university is sticking with its fossil fuel ties.


This announcement was made in a committee report published at the end of last month. The community has been waiting for this report for a while - committee members were named back in February 2023. Rather than calling for a complete ban on fossil fuel funding, the committee decided there is a need for 'better guardrails' and cited 'academic freedom' as one reason to maintain the ties.


Considering Stanford's response to the divestment movement so far (including hiring a big oil law firm), this update isn't exactly surprising, but it's disappointing nonetheless.


350 SV stands firmly behind the student-led groups fighting for divestment at Stanford. It's more important than ever to continue spreading the word and putting pressure on the Doerr School to divest from fossil fuel giants like Chevron and ExxonMobil.


Not sure what's going on with the Doerr School? Catch up on our recent posts.


What's in the Report?

The final report released by the Committee on Funding for Energy Research and Education (CFERE) is 40+ pages long and looks into multiple considerations for divestment at Stanford. You can read the full report here.


The committee's role was to investigate affiliate programs, or IAPs, that provide funding for research projects at Stanford. They examined at least 13 IAPs that receive funding from fossil fuel companies and ultimately concluded that dissociating from those programs could obstruct academic freedom.


Although the report doesn't call for a ban on fossil fuel associations, it does call for oversight and 'better guardrails' to ensure that IAPs don't compromise research integrity. The conclusion states: "It should be our university’s mission to search for next-generation solutions to the climate crisis wherever our faculty and our students believe they will be found. For the foreseeable future, that search may involve fossil fuel industry data, partners, and resources."


Campus & Community Response

Students, faculty, and community members who have fought hard for divestment at Stanford are obviously disappointed by the committee's findings. Many are quoted in the Mercury article, including 350 SV's own Cheryl Weiden, as well as members of the Coalition for a True School of Sustainability.


According to the article, more than 900 students, staff, and alumnae have signed an open letter in response to the report, urging Stanford to truly divest from fossil fuels.


What Can We Do?

This is not game over for those of us who want to see Stanford cut ties with big oil. It's more important than ever to keep supporting calls for divestment.


Check out the Coalition for a True School of Sustainability for more information and regular updates on the divestment movement at Stanford. If you haven't already, sign the Coalition's letters to the Doerr School.


You can also write your own message to Stanford through our online template.


The fact that this news made it to the front page of the Merc means that public awareness of this issue is growing! Let's keep up the pressure and continue calling out hypocrisy at Stanford.

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