Our newest report, “The Regulatory Studies Center: A Stain on the George Washington University Name,” delves into the Koch and ExxonMobil funded RSC, which has repeatedly acted as a front for fossil fuel interests with a history of using GW’s name to provide credibility to climate deniers, fossil fuel cronies, and other discredited backers of pseudoscience. The report, written by UnKoch My Campus Student Organizer and GW student Jake Lowe, highlights a number of instances of climate disinformation and details how the RSC has played a role in promoting a deregulation agenda that benefits its donors. 

The center almost universally advocates against environmental regulation and relies primarily on researchers with ties to groups funded by the Koch family. The Trump administration acted on many of the center’s polluter-friendly recommendations, such as reducing the costs that the government attributes to greenhouse gases and raising the bar for issuing new energy efficiency standards.

“The RSC lacks any claim to academic legitimacy. The RSC brings together Koch network sympathizers to promote deregulation and espouse climate denial in Koch network funded research, and publishes that research in Koch network funded journals. Nonetheless, they continue to be taken seriously by GW administration. As a student fighting for my right to a livable future, the continued presence of the RSC on campus makes me feel ashamed to call GW home.” -- Jake Lowe, Student Organizer and RSC Report author