Ricardo Felício, professor at USP, will be fired for absence – 07/17/2023 – Environment

One of the best-known names in climate denialism in Brazil, Professor Ricardo Augusto Felício, 53, will be dismissed from USP (University of São Paulo). The institution’s rectory complied with the decision taken after a disciplinary process against the teacher, who refused to teach classes, even virtual ones, during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The difficulty now is notifying Felício, who does not respond to USP contacts by letter, telephone or e-mail.

“The citation is a fundamental part. Now there’s nothing missing for us to materialize the dismissal, just his awareness. But he must be very well supported legally and is avoiding this notification”, says Paulo Martins, director of FFLCH (Faculty of Philosophy, Letters and Human Sciences).

Hired by USP in 2007, Felício taught the discipline of climatology in the geography course. He denies that human activities cause climate change – contrary to the abundant scientific production that demonstrates that the emissions of greenhouse gases linked to humanity are related to the global increase in temperatures.

“It would be great if we were able to notify him via social networks or in the YouTube chat, where he is still active. The guy doesn’t leave the internet”, ironizes Martins, who says that the university should proceed with a judicial process to carry out the notification.

When contacted, Felício did not respond to the report’s requests for contact.

According to the disciplinary process, Ricardo Felício refused to teach any classes since the beginning of the health crisis and, even so, he continued to receive payment for his work normally. Hired on a part-time basis, he would teach 12 hours a week, with a current salary of around BRL 2,814 per month.

The abandonment of teaching commitments contrasts with the intense activity on social networks and at events to question that climate change is caused by humanity.

Felício’s restrictions on teaching activities do not appear to have been motivated by concerns about the risks of Covid-19. The professor published several videos questioning the seriousness of the pandemic, pejoratively called “fraudemia”.

Due to the spread of misinformation, Justice determined, in 2021, the removal of two videos produced by YouTube from YouTube. In addition to Covid-19 itself, Ricardo Felício, who has a degree in meteorology, also began to attack vaccines and the use of masks, once again contradicting all the abundant scientific evidence.

Felício also collects videos with a conspiratorial approach and attacks on institutions such as the IPCC, the panel of UN climate scientists.

According to Martins, the university must move forward with a process for the reimbursement of the amounts transferred without Felício working. The director of FFLCH also reports that the situation harmed students and other teachers, who were overwhelmed with the accumulation of functions. “From a labor point of view, what he did is unspeakable, it’s terrible.”

Approval of the resignation will allow Ricardo Felício to be formally removed from the college’s teaching staff, which will pave the way for the hiring of a replacement.

“Opening a competition to hire a professor at USP is not easy, it’s not just putting an ad on the internet. You have to justify this very well to the State Court of Accounts”, says Martins.

On social networks, several environmentalists celebrate the resignation of the climate denier.

Despite being linked to one of the most prestigious universities in Brazil, his academic career was marked by low productivity. His few scientific articles were published in journals with a low impact factor.

In 2014, Felício was rejected in the contest for the Habilitation, an academic degree that attests to “notorious knowledge” and is a prerequisite for tenured professorships at several universities. The exam is a marathon of evaluations that involves four days of testing and a committee composed of five professors.

“It is effectively the apex of the institutional career”, says Martins. “The fact that he failed shows that his academic production and his positioning were not consistent with his progression at USP.”

Despite his low performance in research and teaching, the meteorologist’s communicative and articulate manner, combined with controversial statements, contributed to his gaining space on radio and television programs — and later on in several videos on the internet.

In 2012, Felício stood out after being interviewed by Jô Soares, on Rede Globo, when he returned to attack, without foundation, the human influence on global warming.

Over the past decade, the inflammatory discourse against climate change has also been accompanied by political statements and anti-vaccination rhetoric.

Under the name “Prof. Ricardo Felício”, the meteorologist was a candidate for federal deputy in 2018 for the PSL, then Jair Bolsonaro’s party. He received 11,163 votes and was not elected.

After selling video classes and an internet course, Felício is also listed as a speaker at a company that arranges lectures.