http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/pages/degrees_of_capture.htm
Degrees of capture MARCH 2003 A joint publication with Platform and the New Economics Foundation which outlines how Britain's universities and colleges are being co-opted into directing their research and training for the benefit of the fossil fuel industry, with potentially devastating long-term effects on the environment. Degrees Of Capture Universities, The Oil Industry And Climate Change The oil industry and Britain's universities: how many degrees of capture? This report examines the relationship between the oil and gas industry and the UK higher education sector, and assesses this in the context of climate change. It asks if some parts of the higher education sector have been 'captured'a by the industry. The report looks in detail at how much influence oil and gas companies have over R&D priorities, and to what extent public money is supporting both the extraction of fossil fuels and the profits of carbon-intensive corporations. Universities could play an important role in leading the debate about energy economics and developing sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels. Yet universities are engaged in research and technology development which is used by the oil and gas industry, and are the recruiting and training grounds for its future managers. After detailing the ways in which the research and teaching agendas are influenced by oil companies, the report makes a series of recommendations to put universities onto a more sustainable path. Read the report (pdf) 1194kb http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/publications/degrees_of_capture.pdf Read the press release http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/pages/degrees.htm Paper copies available from Corporate Watch - £3 inc. p+p Publication funded by Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust and Greenpeace. http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/pages/degrees.htm Degrees Degrees of capture Universities favour oil company profits over environment New report finds big oil companies co-opting "independent" research at taxpayers' expense Government is subsidising the oil and gas industry's massive profits to the tune of £40 million per year through the "capture" of some of Britain's most respected academic institutions, says a new report released today, Tuesday the 11th of February, by Corporate Watch, PLATFORM and the New Economics Foundation. The report, "Degrees of Capture", outlines how Britain's universities and colleges are being co-opted into directing their research and training for the benefit of the fossil fuel industry, with potentially devastating long-term effects on the environment. This compromising link between academic research and corporate profit is being encouraged and furthered by government spending priorities. Despite the government's own stated goals in the face of global warming of "reducing our use of fossil fuels, and replacing them with non-fossil sources", huge sums of public money are being spent on research of direct use only to the massively profitable, and highly damaging, oil and gas industries. Author of the report, Greg Muttitt of PLATFORM, said "Climate change is the biggest environmental threat facing mankind at present. It is shocking that while we urgently need to be reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, government and academic institutions are taking us in exactly the opposite direction." The report shows that: * Universities contribute about 1000 research projects, worth £67 million, every year to the oil and gas industry. * 60 per cent of this is funded by public money. * Oil companies have effectively captured higher education by infiltrating every level of academic decision making: both universities and government prioritise boosting corporate profits over solving major public problems such as climate change "Publicly funded research into fossil fuels technologies, and 'search and exploit' missions to find and develop oil fields, is a bad subsidy and is artificially distorting energy markets in favour of the big oil and gas companies," says Andrew Simms, policy director of the New Economics Foundation, "It undermines progress towards the necessary development of renewable energy alternatives. The neglect means that solutions to global warming could already have been fatally delayed." The report outlines the mechanisms of 'capture' of academic departments and institutions - through personal connections, donations, funding and employment for graduates. Oil companies may donate buildings, equipment and cash, and sponsor academic posts and staff or student secondments - revenue streams that cash strapped universities can ill afford to refuse. Rebecca Spencer of Corporate Watch, said: "Degrees of Capture exposes one part of the creeping takeover of British universities by corporate interests. This takeover threatens academic independence, damages our universities' credibility and could have serious consequences for society as a whole" The report recommends that: * All public money spent on energy research should be redirected toward finding viable, sustainable energy sources. * The involvement of private interests in public institutions should be made transparent through a central, open access register of all institutions' and academics' industry links and interests. * Public research funding bodies like the Research Councils should adopt a commitment that prioritises problem-solving in issues of major public interest, such as global warming, over furthering the generation of private profit. Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Biofuels list archives: http://archive.nnytech.net/index.php?list=biofuel Please do NOT send Unsubscribe messages to the list address. To unsubscribe, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! 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