Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

Fossil Free Research VU

After an extensive internal assessment process, on 20 April 2023 Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam’s Executive Board announced that it will no longer enter new research partnerships with companies from the fossil fuel industry, unless those companies demonstrably commit to the Paris Agreement. This agreement aims to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C (with an absolute maximum of 2°C). As part of this commitment, VU Amsterdam has engaged in an open dialogue with industry stakeholders to foster transparency and accountability.

Establishing a national platform for collaboration and dialogue, VU Amsterdam invited participation from various stakeholders to accelerate the energy transition collectively. Despite the complexity of these endeavours, VU Amsterdam emphasizes the urgency of the situation and calls for collaborative efforts to drive meaningful change.

Top 3 Learnings

1. We sticked to the science when discussing our collaboration with the fossil fuel industry.
2. We harnessed the power of our academic community via dialogue.
3. We dared to be bold and challenged the status quo.