UK universities condemned for taking £89 million from oil firms in the last four years

Investigations reveal that £89m in funds has been taken from oil giants by some of the UK’s most prestigious academic institutions.

According to new research by openDemocracy, Imperial College London, Cambridge, and Oxford are among the universities who have accepted funds amounting to £89m from major oil companies in the last four years.

The research has discovered that Imperial College London has received £54m since 2017, making it the institution which has accepted the most amount of money of all those that have been investigated. This includes £39m from Shell, with which the institution is said to have a “longstanding and fruitful partnership”.

Imperial refused to reveal exactly what the money was used for due to the confidentiality of private contracts, simply saying that it funded research into “energy transition, lowering carbon emissions in extraction, and in carbon mitigation measures”.

Cambridge University took more than £14m from oil giants, while Oxford received almost £8m.

Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Southampton, and Bath also took more than £1m each from oil companies. In total, the institutions said they received £89m.

There is no justification for taking money from oil and gas firms, and no justification for being complicit in the greenwashing of these big corporations

– Caroline Lucas, the MP for Brighton Pavilion

Cambridge University said that it only received money from oil firms if the partnership would support the UK’s “transition to decarbonised energy”. Rianna Gargiulo, divestment campaigner at Friends of the Earth, suggested that the deal is uncovering a dark side of the university.

She said: “By accepting millions of pounds in grants and sponsorship from the fossil fuel industry, UK universities are complicit in propping up and legitimising the existence and operations of some of the most harmful companies on the planet”.

There has been a surge in pressure on institutions to cut ties with fossil fuel companies in recent months. More than 40 scientists and senior academics signed an open letter stating that they would not work with the Science Museum due to its financial ties with major oil companies.

In October, young environmentalists occupied the Science Museum in London to protest over its sponsorship deals with fossil fuel companies.

It is unknown how many universities have received funding from oil giants. While 36 universities have admitted to accepting money, others have refused to reveal whether they have received similar funding.

Caroline Lucas, the MP for Brighton Pavilion said: “Let’s be clear- there is no justification for taking money from oil and gas firms, and no justification for being complicit in the greenwashing of these big corporations”.