Oxford University received £112m from fossil fuel industry

The university said the funding often went directly to research climate-related issues and renewables

Oxford University has received more than £112m in research grants and donations from the fossil fuel industry since 2015, a new report has found.

The findings were published by the Oxford Climate Justice Campaign (OCJC), which has demanded the university cuts its ties to the industry.

Of the figures mentioned in the report, by far the largest is a single £100m donation from chemical company INEOS.

The institution said donations benefitted climate-related research.

The OCJC said the funding undermined the work Oxford researchers were carrying out to promote sustainability.

Last year the university announced it was cutting its ties to the fossil fuel industry, and that it would ask its fund managers to show evidence of net-zero carbon business plans.

But Molly Clark from the OCJC said it was withdrawing its investments "with one hand" while "receiving research grants and donations from these same companies with the other".

She said it was "maintaining a range of financial, institutional, and personnel connections" with an industry "responsible for shameful social and racial injustice across the world".

She added: "The biggest impacts Oxford has on the world are through its research and the education it provides.

"It is meaningless to claim Oxford will be net-zero if its research and education continue to aid the fossil fuel industry to extract more resources."

Protesters have campaigned in recent years for the university to rethink its investments

BP scholarships and a donation the company made to the computer science department are also mentioned in the report.

Responding to the findings, the university said it "safeguards the independence of its teaching and research programmes, regardless of the nature of their funding".

It added: "Those donating money or sponsoring programmes at the university have no influence over how academics carry out their research or what conclusions they reach.

"Researchers publish the results of their work whether the results are seen to be critical or favourable by industry or governments."