Fossil fuel companies donated $700m to US universities over 10 years

Sproul Plaza on the University of California, Berkeley. The university received $154m in funding from fossil fuel companies. Photograph: Eric Risberg/AP

Six fossil fuel companies funneled more than $700m in research funding to 27 universities in the US from 2010 to 2020, according to a new study.

Such funding at universities that conduct climate research can shift not just research agendas, but also policy in the direction of climate solutions the industry prefers, the report’s authors argue.