The Fossil Fuel Funding Behind Influential University Research (w/ Maddie Stone and Katie Worth)

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In 2004, Princeton professors Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow published a paper in Science Magazine called "Stabilization Wedges: Solving the Climate Problem for the Next 50 Years with Current Technologies".  This paper gained wide popularity for its proposed solutions that it claimed were a comprehensive strategy to reduce emission levels over the next 50 years.  Even though the goal of this paper was a pathway to reduced emissions, it didn't call for the complete phase out of fossil fuels, but rather proposed fossil fuels play a significant role in our energy system for decades.  If that seems strange to you, you're not alone.

Drilled and ProPublica have teamed up to release a new series titled "Beyond Denial", which examines the influence of fossil fuel industry funding on climate research and its subsequent impact on policy, public debate and our approach to environmental solutions. Series reporters Maddie Stone and Katie Worth join The Climate Pod to discuss what they found in their reporting intob who was funding the 2004 "Wedges" paper, the unfulfilled promises of Carbon Capture and Sequestration, and the critical need for climate journalism in 2026.

Read: Beyond Denial: How Oil Execs Shaped a Landmark Climate Study

Read: Why Carbon Capture Can't Solve Climate Change

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