American Geophysical Union Again Agrees to Continue Accepting Exxon Money

For the second time AGU’s board has decided that accepting money from Exxon, which is under scrutiny over climate change, does not violate its mission.

The American Geophysical Union announced Friday that it would continue to accept funding from ExxonMobil.  The decision rejects the calls of some scientists, activists and others to refuse the company's sponsorship money because they say the energy giant has helped spread doubt about climate change and stymied effective climate policies.

AGU's board made its decision during its Sept. 14-15 meeting in Washington, D.C.  This is the second time in six months that the board has discussed whether accepting money from Exxon violates its mission and funding policies—and decided it does not.
...
Since the beginning of the year, more than 56,000 people have signed multiple petitions calling on AGU to stop accepting funding from Exxon.  Petition signatories include hundreds of AGU members and thousands of outside researchers and activists.  (AGU has about 60,000 members.)  The advocacy group Union of Concerned Scientists sent a letter this month to AGU's leaders urging them to cut ties with Exxon.  Two members of Congress, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), sent a letter in May similarly urging AGU to reconsider its relationship with Exxon.
...
According to previous interviews with AGU members and officials, severing ties with Exxon is not a simple issue even though the sums are relatively small, in part because AGU and the company have been intertwined for at least four decades.  Exxon has long recruited AGU scientists, and they share a common interest in better understanding Earth's geoscience.

Read more at American Geophysical Union Again Agrees to Continue Accepting Exxon Money