Sunrise Princeton hosts “Emergency Rally for Climate Justice”; Princeton resumes energy research funding

On Friday, October 4, Sunrise Princeton, a climate justice student organization, held an “Emergency Rally for Climate Justice” in front of Nassau Hall.  The rally drew approximately 30 attendees, who chanted, among other things, “Climate, justice, climate, justice,” “do your job,” and “cut all ties.” Attendance was noticeably lower than past Sunrise Princeton rallies, including an Earth Day march last semester which drew about 50 students. After 20 minutes, protestors dispersed.

Sunrise Princeton’s rally was originally organized in response to the Princeton University Investment Company’s acknowledgement of owning Petrotiger, an energy company. However, on Thursday, October 3, Princeton University’s Provost, Dean for Research, and Dean of the Faculty issued a joint statement announcing modifications to Princeton’s ongoing fossil fuel dissociation process. Of particular note was that faculty could now accept research funds from energy companies which the University divested from, contingent on the following criteria:

1. The research funds may support only research projects aimed toward the amelioration of the environmental harms of carbon emissions.
2. Faculty supported by the research funds will retain the academic freedom to publish their results. This condition is consistent with the University’s broad approach to corporate sponsored research. 
3. This modification covers only sponsored research grants that support research projects; it does not apply to broad funding agreements or gifts, such as discretionary funding not specifically geared toward the costs of research projects and collaborations that meet the above criteria. Nor does the modification apply to any grants predicated on obtaining special recruiting privileges or similar kinds of preferential access that go beyond typical interactions associated with research collaborations.

Several faculty members in the Andlinger Center, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Department of Chemistry – who wish to remain anonymous – told the Tory that they’ve lobbied for this change since the Board of Trustees of Princeton University divested from 90 energy companies in September 2022. Before divestment, Princeton researchers collaborated closely with ExxonMobil, BP, and other energy companies to develop recyclable plastics, carbon capture technologies, and novel biofuels.

Following the policy change, Sunrise Princeton’s founders argued that Princeton cannot responsibly partner with the energy industry to fund sustainable energy research. BP currently funds Princeton’s Carbon Mitigation Initiative (CMI), and Princeton researchers have argued that researchers impact their energy company funders, not the other way around. 

Tory writers have previously argued that Divest Princeton, Sunrise Princeton’s predecessor, sought to “eliminate all ties with the [energy] industry, no matter their environmental benefit.” Sunrise Princeton succeeded Divest Princeton as Princeton’s climate justice student organization following the 2022 divestment and Divest Princeton’s incorporation into the national Sunrise Movement. Divest Princeton still exists, but is now oriented towards and run by alumni.

Santhosh Nadarajah

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