On Monday, October 27, members of Sunrise Columbia protested the usage of fossil fuel funding in Columbia’s Center for Global Energy Policy (CGEP) research. 

On Monday, members of Sunrise Columbia dressed as fossil fuel executives and delivered “faux checks” to the Columbia Center for Global Energy Policy (CGEP) to emphasize the center’s usage of donations from fossil fuel companies. Sunrise Columbia is the University’s chapter of the national Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate advocacy organization which works to combat climate change. The club has been fighting for CGEP funding transparency and divestment since publishing a report in 2024 which highlights the ties between Columbia and the fossil fuel industry. Sunrise Columbia announced the demonstration in a press release ahead of the event.

A 2022 Nature study found that Columbia was a “fossil-funded academic center,” exhibiting a bias towards natural gas as compared to non-fossil fuel funded research centers. Additionally, in their 2024 report, Sunrise Columbia found that Columbia University has accepted at least $43 million from 42 corporations associated with the fossil-fuel industry between 2005 and 2024. Before the protest, Sunrise Columbia released a press release stating the goal of this protest is to prevent “greenwashing,” which absolves fossil fuel companies from liability by portraying them as environmentally friendly. 

On Monday afternoon, members of the club dressed in professional clothing and presented self-created “faux checks” to other members, imitating fossil fuel companies donating money to CGEP. Members wore nametags showing them to be executives from various executives from prominent oil and gas companies, including Exxon, Occidental Petroleum, Tellurian, Expand Energy Corporation, and ONEOK. The checks ranged from $200 thousand to $3 billion, and were made out for purposes such as “Disinformation,” “Ecocide,” “Greenwashing,” and “Mass Extinction.” 

This act is a part of a larger fossil-free research campaign, which includes both the 2024 report, and an open faculty and staff letter, signed by over 130 faculty members. The ultimate goal is complete divestment of fossil fuel donations from CGEP. Rebecca Carter, a member of Sunrise Columbia, emphasized this goal in a press release after the protest, stating, “Sunrise Columbia demands that Columbia University and the Center on Global Energy Policy adopt a Fossil-Free Research policy, refusing all funding from the fossil fuel industry to ensure research integrity and academic freedom.” 

All images via Sunrise Columbia