Climate and Conflict: The Rockefeller Foundation Support for the International Federation of Institutes for Advanced Study’s Climate Change Research in the 1970s

This report explores the motivations behind Rockefeller Foundation (RF) support for climate change research in the 1970s. I argue that such support stemmed from the presidency of John H. Knowles, who led attempts to reform RF’s image in response to challenges of the 1960s such as the 1969 Tax Reform Act. As a result, RF funded interdisciplinary conferences that made explicit recommendations regarding food policy, sometimes causing tension with members of the US policy and research establishments.