I don’t think much of any of it goes to actual research. Oil has had plenty of subsidies with the ‘running out of oil’ boogy man, and then the ‘risk premiums’ due to instability in the ME etc. The more people that fear we’ll end up penniless and freezing in the dark if the greens get their way, the easier they have it. By easier, I mean direct subsidies tax breaks and grants, not just easier permits and reduced restrictions.
The military uses ‘terrorism’, finance uses ‘depression’, churches use ‘hell’, greens use CAGW, the prison system uses ‘surging violent crime’, politicians use everything they can reach. Heartland etc definitely use ‘eco freedom haters’ to raise money (and they don’t pay tax), but no argument they are less successful by many orders of magnitude than the green side.
I’m just saying it is easier to get resources with controversy, so a lot of that is generated. Not sure how physicists have pulled it off all these years, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they discover some unprecedented-impending-doom(TM) when looking to finance the next large collider : ).