At elite universities, students demand environmental action

When oil and gas giant Total announced last year that it would establish a research centre on the campus of one of the world’s finest engineering schools, École Polytechnique, located southeast of Paris, it sparked an uproar. Hundreds of students voted against the centre. At a time when engineers and scientists should be leading the way to a newly sustainable world, they argued, among other things, the project gave undue influence to a company that remains a world leader in fossil fuels, writes Constant Méheut for The New York Times.

“I find it disturbing to be influenced by Total, which has a rather biased vision of the energy transition,” said Benoit Halgand (22) who is in his final year at the school. He added the company “will always want to use oil and gas for many years to come”. A spokesman for Total said in a written response that the group is aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050 and that its research centre has “the sole objective of accelerating innovation and research on low-carbon energies”.

The clash was the latest of many at France’s elite campuses. Students alarmed by a warming planet are challenging the corporations that see them as potential future employees and are pressuring universities to put climate change and other environmental issues at the core of their curriculums.
Full report on The New York Times site