Investigation Links BP Funding to Influential Climate Study That Oversold Carbon Capture
7 verified4 unconfirmed
An investigation has found that fossil fuel companies funded climate research at U.S. universities for more than 30 years, with a focus on solutions that do not require reducing oil and gas use. BP provided $15 million to launch the Carbon Mitigation Initiative at Princeton University in 1997, which produced a highly influential climate paper known as “Wedges.” The paper, written by Princeton scientists Robert Socolow and Stephen Pacala, promoted carbon capture and storage as a key solution and described it as already deployed at industrial scale. BP executives were deeply involved in shaping the paper, reviewing multiple drafts and suggesting wording, according to the investigation. The paper went on to shape global climate policy, including being cited by U.S. presidents and the United Nations climate panel. However, the investigation found that the technology was oversold and still faces significant technical and financial hurdles. Scientists say the framing made solving climate change seem easier than it was and helped delay cuts to fossil fuel emissions.
What’s verified
Fossil fuel companies have funded climate research at U.S. universities for more than 30 years.
BP donated $15 million to start the Carbon Mitigation Initiative at Princeton University.
The initiative produced the “Wedges” paper, authored by Princeton researchers Robert Socolow and Stephen Pacala.
The paper promoted carbon capture and storage and described it as already deployed at industrial scale.
BP executives reviewed drafts of the paper and provided feedback, including suggesting language for the title.
The paper was widely influential, cited in policy by U.S. presidents and the United Nations panel on climate change.
The investigation states that the technology for carbon capture has not proven effective at the scale needed to avert extreme warming.
Not yet confirmed
A single source reports that a former BP vice president stated the company took academic freedom seriously and did not oversee publications.
The same source reports that BP tried unsuccessfully to revise a version of the paper.
A single source includes a quote from climate scientist Benjamin Franta calling the funding pattern “the colonization of academia.”
The specific date of BP’s 1997 speech at Stanford University and the exact details of the company’s earlier denial efforts are provided by only one source.
Misconceptions
The sources address the misconception that carbon capture and storage technology was proven and ready for industrial-scale deployment at the time of the “Wedges” paper. They also address the broader notion that climate change could be solved without dramatically reducing the use of fossil fuels, a framing that the investigation says delayed emissions cuts.
Key figures
Robert Socolow, Princeton researcher and co-author of the “Wedges” paper
Stephen Pacala, Princeton researcher and co-author of the “Wedges” paper
John Browne, former chief executive of BP
Benjamin Franta, associate professor of climate litigation at University of Oxford
Gardiner Hill, former vice president and climate executive at BP
Zeke Hausfather, climate scientist with Berkeley Earth
Ken Caldeira, climate scientist
Marty Hoffert, New York University physics professor
Sources: projects.propublica.org, propublica.org
