The School of the Environment at U of T recently announced that it will financially disassociate from fossil fuel funding and partnerships. The decision makes the School of the Environment the only academic institution in North America with a commitment to fossil fuel dissociation.

Climate Justice UofT (CJ UofT) — a student climate activist group on campus — believes that while the announcement marks a “huge victory for the student climate movement, the fight is far from over.”

Fossil free research

In its announcement, the School of the Environment said it adopted three new principles to guide the department’s decision-making on funding and future partnerships. The School of the Environment will no longer be accepting donations from fossil fuel companies for buildings and infrastructure, student scholarships, seminar series, and other activities. 

“The School of the Environment’s commitment to dissociate from the fossil fuel industry was made in consultation with faculty members within the School of the Environment, as well as collaboration and input from both undergraduate and graduate students,” the announcement read. 

The School of the Environment will also no longer enter into sponsorship agreements with fossil fuel companies for events and initiatives at the school, including recruitment events. The department will seek to increase its transparency with funding, donations, and partnerships while respecting the academic freedom of faculty, colleagues, and students in their research and teaching. 

“The School acknowledges the limitations of these principles, and we will work with the University of Toronto leadership to explore broader, university-wide policies on fossil-free research.”

In a statement to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson noted that “individual researchers have academic freedom to partner with community groups and not-for-profits, industry, business, government and others to advance their research.”

They added that “there is no policy at U of T — nor any federal law or directive — that prohibits researchers from taking funding from fossil fuel companies. There are a number of well-established guidelines and policies that guard against undue influence on research without limiting or censoring research funding opportunities for scholars.”

CJ UofT response

In an October press release from CJ UofT, the organization stated that the School of Environment’s decision to financially disassociate from fossil fuels marks “a major win for the student climate movement.” 

According to CJ UofT, in order for U of T to be “a true climate leader” the university must fully cut ties with the fossil fuel industry and not accept fossil fuel financing for climate and energy-related research. 

“The commitments are limited to the School of the Environment and do not pertain to the University of Toronto at large, which continues to accept funding from and engage in research partnerships with fossil fuel companies,” CJ UofT stated.

“We will fight until all universities stop accepting fossil fuel funding and enabling the climate crisis,” said recent U of T graduate and CJ U of T co-founder Erin Mackey in the release. 

Bound to Big Oil Report 

In January, CJ UofT published its “Bound to Big Oil” report. The report highlighted universities’ responsibilities in phasing out their reliance on fossil fuels, as they’re responsible for academic agenda setting, researching policy solutions, and informing public opinion about fossil fuels. The report’s research is partially funded by the School of the Environment and is cited in CJ UofT’s press release as a contributing factor to the department’s decision. 

Between 2008 and 2018, U of T accepted over $64 million in donations from the fossil fuel industry. According to CJ UofT’s report, through donations to the university, fossil fuel companies gain influence over research agendas — legitimizing false solutions and counternarratives to climate science. 

“In the context of university decision-making, fossil fuel companies exert leverage beyond monetary donations by having a presence in the bodies of university governance. In such cases, people who hold key decision-making and oversight positions at academic institutions are also active decision-makers in the fossil fuel industry,” states the report. 

In a statement to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson referred to the Provostial Guidelines on Donations as the policy that “protects the University’s integrity, autonomy and academic freedom” when it comes to receiving gifts or donations, including from corporations. 

“The University only solicits and accepts gifts for academic priorities that are approved by the Provost at the recommendation of Principals and Deans, in accordance with established procedures for academic planning and academic initiatives,” they added. “The terms and conditions governing the use of donations are matters of public record, except for information which is personal or proprietary.” 

Through U of T’s Blue Door Research Directory, CJ UofT found in their report that at least four current U of T professors in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering have previously entered into or are actively engaged in sponsored research agreements with fossil fuel companies.

Role of universities in phasing out fossil fuels

In 2019, U of T announced a Low-Carbon Action Plan, aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 37 per cent by 2030. In 2021, the university committed to divesting its four billion dollar endowment fund from fossil fuels by 2030 at the latest.

In an interview with The Varsity, Matthew Hoffmann, a professor in the Department of Political Science at UTSC and co-director of the Environmental Governance Lab, said that he believes that the university “[has] to go faster” in its divestment plan. 

“The School of the Environment is the only educational institution that I know of that has made this kind of commitment to transparency,” said Hoffmann. “It’s a challenge to the rest of the university to take this seriously and to really consider following in the School of the Environment’s footsteps.”