Teachers threaten boycott over Science Museum’s Adani deal
A group of teachers and educators is threatening to boycott the Science Museum Group’s (SMG) Energy Revolution gallery if the multinational firm Adani Green Energy stays on as the gallery’s sponsor.
The SMG’s deal with Adani, which belongs to a conglomerate that has significant financial interests in coal, caused an outcry when it was announced last year, prompting several resignations among the SMG’s advisors and trustees.
More than 400 teachers delivered a pledge to London’s Science Museum this week saying “if your proposed Energy Revolution gallery is sponsored by Adani, then we will not be bringing our students to it”.
The Energy Revolution gallery is due to open in 2023 and will explore new climate science and the technology needed to cut the world’s reliance on fossil fuels. Key Stage 3 and 4 pupils and young people aged 11-18 are key target audiences of the gallery.
In a letter to the museum, the teachers wrote: “As educators, we have a legal duty to ensure our students are receiving a fair and balanced education, which prepares them properly for their future. There is no doubt among the scientific community that in order for us to turn the tide on catastrophic warming, we have to leave fossil fuels in the ground and end the exploration for high carbon energy. The business interests and practices of your major fossil fuel sponsors go directly against this.”
The boycott was organised by the Fossil Free Science Museum collective, a group of activist organisations that have come together in response to the SMG's decision to strike new deals with the fossil fuel industry. The collective staged an action at the Science Museum last week.
Chemistry teacher Ian McDermott, who signed the letter, said: “It makes me so sad that this magical building, that has done so much to benefit and inspire young people, is now actively harming them, by allowing coal giants like Adani, who are destroying the future of the world’s young people by expanding mining, to greenwash their reputation at the expense of the reputation of the museum. The board have a duty to these young people to think again.”
The SMG has consistently defended its position on working with the fossil fuel industry.
CEO Ian Blatchford told Museums Journal: “As the country’s most visited museum by school groups each year, we are proud to ignite the curiosity of hundreds of thousands of young people and their teachers, whose decisions about which galleries and exhibitions to visit we fully respect.
“We agree that climate change is the most urgent challenge facing humanity but we don’t agree with the argument from some who say we should sever ties with all energy companies with an association, direct or indirect, with fossil fuels. We believe the right approach is to engage and challenge companies and other partners to do more to make the global economy less carbon intensive.”
The institution announced this week that it is evolving its approach to assessing the commitment of prospective and current sponsors to curbing climate change.
Since 2020, the SMG has used the Transition Pathway Initiative's (TPI) Management Quality index to evaluate partners, with a threshold set at Level 3.
It is now asking partners and prospective partners to achieve Level 4 on index by the end of this financial year, and achieve alignment with the Paris 1.5 degree pathway on TPI’s Carbon Performance index by the end of the next financial year.
The SMG said: “Sponsors in carbon intensive sectors have been informed of these new benchmarks as we continue to urge companies to show more leadership in speeding up the transition to low-carbon energy sources.”