Statement on collaboration with the fossil fuel industry
Leiden University will not enter into any new research partnerships with companies in the fossil fuel industry that are not intensively and demonstrably committed to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
The university will develop a new policy in the course of 2024 to reflect this position. The new rules will only take effect once the Executive Board has reached a decision on this.
Exceptions will only be made if a project clearly contributes to the energy transition. In this case, too, the necessity of collaborating with such a company will be assessed: a possible reason for collaboration could be, for example, because the company holds data that is essential for the research or knowledge that contributes in some other way to the energy transition.
Definition of ‘fossil fuel industry’
The term ‘fossil fuel industry’ is defined here as companies that engage in the exploration, extraction and exploitation of fossil fuels such as oil, coal and gas. Shell and Exxon Mobil are examples of such companies.
Projects that do not contribute to the energy transition but are carried out with companies that do commit to the Paris climate goals will also be assessed.
Current projects that do not meet these conditions will be completed.
These principles will be incorporated into new policies that provide clear guidelines and advice for researchers. This statement may become more stringent or be supplemented or amended in some other way if it becomes apparent that a contribution to the Paris Climate goals or the energy transition cannot adequately be demonstrated and/or if societal developments or cases encountered necessitate this.
Read the Explanatory statement for more information
Paris climate goals
In 2016, the European Union, including the Netherlands, signed the Paris Agreement. The agreement aims to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius, and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Agreements have been made at the European level to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The EU member states have jointly agreed that they will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030. The EU wants to be climate neutral by 2050. This means net zero greenhouse gas emissions by that time