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My journey out of fossil fuel-funded research

Nature Geoscience volume 16, page 468 (2023)Cite this article

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Research on the energy transition needs to involve all communities and requires breaking the paradigm of traditional industry-funded research, argues Jef Caers from his personal story.

When I entered Stanford University as an assistant professor of petroleum engineering, I had the opportunity to perform research funded entirely by the oil and gas industry. Industrial affiliate funding was essentially ‘free money’: there was no project definition, no deadline, and no deliverables. I collaborated closely with 37 oil and gas companies and met many wonderful scientists and engineers. However, eventually, this work was uprooted by personal challenges, most importantly methamphetamine addiction1. I was hiding my sexual identity at work, given the conservative nature of the fossil fuel industry, and certainly when visiting countries where being gay was a capital offence. I worked through my many issues by creating communities that I enjoyed being part of1. As the fear of being myself dissipated into the joy of opening my heart to better life choices, I started to reconsider my research focus at Stanford.

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References

  1. Caers, J. Nat. Rev. Earth Environ. 2, 453–454 (2021).

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  2. Halper, E. ExxonMobil ordered to reinstate fired whistleblowers who alleged fraud. The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/10/06/exxonmobil-whistleblowers-wrongful-termination/ (6 October 2022).

  3. Harvey, C. & House, K. Every dollar spent on this climate technology is a waste. The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/16/opinion/climate-inflation-reduction-act.html/ (16 August 2022).

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  1. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    Jef Caers

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  1. Jef Caers
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Correspondence to Jef Caers.

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Caers, J. My journey out of fossil fuel-funded research. Nat. Geosci. 16, 468 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-023-01195-2

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