Committee on Research Funding From Fossil Fuel Companies Report

Dear members of the Columbia community:

We are pleased to share that today, the Committee on Research Funding From Fossil Fuel Companies is releasing its report to our community.

Led by co-chairs Sarah Cole, Dean of the School of the Arts and Parr Professor of English and Comparative Literature, and Keren Bergman, Charles Batchelor Professor of Electrical Engineering, the report is the culmination of two years of rigorous analysis, broad consultation, and careful deliberation. You can read more about the Committee’s work in Columbia News.

Convened by former President Minouche Shafik in mid-2024, the Committee sought to answer a fundamental question: Should the University take the further step of fully disassociating from fossil fuel companies, including restricting research funding from those companies, as part of Columbia’s commitment to addressing the climate crisis?

To examine this question, the Committee began its work by identifying the core values that would guide its work: a commitment to freedom of speech and discourse, and to transparency. It then undertook an extensive review process that included administering a written survey of the Columbia community, meetings with undergraduate and graduate groups, and extensive deliberations among experts from Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Business, the Climate School, Engineering, International and Public Affairs, Journalism, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Law, and Public Health, as well as undergraduate and graduate student representatives.

While recognizing the urgency of addressing the climate crisis and the importance of continued public debate on the role of fossil fuel companies in society, the Committee concluded that a blanket prohibition on research funding from these companies would threaten the academic freedom that is fundamental to the University. This is a critical finding, and the report provides a detailed analysis of the considerations and reasoning.

The report’s other key conclusion is that transparency regarding funding from fossil fuel companies is essential. While the University already embraces this principle, the report emphasizes the importance of continuing to strengthen disclosure practices and public reporting.

Universities depend on robust and sustained research funding to drive discovery, fuel innovation, and address some of society’s most pressing challenges. As the report compellingly makes plain, preserving research integrity through clear disclosure practices and strong institutional safeguards is vital to maintaining public and community trust. In turn, those practices are a critical investment in the academic freedom and decision-making afforded to our faculty and researchers.

We are deeply grateful to Sarah and Keren, and to all members of the Committee, for their leadership on this vital effort. We also thank Naomi Schrag, Vice President for Research Compliance, Training, and Policy, and Dan Zarrilli, Chief Climate and Sustainability Officer, for helping staff this committee. Please join us in thanking all of them for their exceptional work. It is a reminder that consequential, sensitive topics always benefit from the thorough, analytical and insightful process brought by our academic experts. The report will be a template for the institution going forward.

Committee Members

• Ruth de Fries, University Professor; Denning Family Professor of Sustainable Development in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology
• Michael Doyle, University Professor of SIPA, Law and Political Science
• Michael Gerrard, Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice, Director of Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School
• David S. Goldberg, Paros Lamont Research Professor in Climate Science Research and Carbon Management and Deputy Director, the Lamont- Doherty Earth Observatory; Director, Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy
• Julie Herbstman, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, Director of Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health, Director and Career Development Program Director of the Columbia Center for Environmental Health and Justice in Northern Manhattan
• Harrison Hong, John R. Eckel Jr. Professor of Financial Economics
• Robe Imbriano, Ira A. Lipman Associate Professor of Journalism, Director, Ira. A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights
• Kate Orff, Professor of Architecture, Planning & Preservation and of Climate, and Director, Urban Design Center, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation
• Bruce Usher, Professor of Professional Practice, Columbia Climate School and Columbia Business School; Elizabeth B. Strickler ’86 and Mark T. Gallogly ’86 Faculty Director of the Tamer Institute for Social Enterprise
• Jennifer Wenzel, Professor of English and Comparative Literature and Professor of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies; Co-Director and Board Co-Chair, Society of Fellows and Heyman Center for the Humanities
• Alan West, Samuel Ruben-Peter G. Viele Professor of Electrochemistry and Professor of Earth and Environmental Engineering; Co-Director, Columbia Electrochemical Energy Center

Sincerely,

Claire Shipman
Acting President, Columbia University in the City of New York

Jeannette M. Wing
Executive Vice President for Research and Professor of Computer Science