Joining Shell, BP, and Occidental Petroleum, Exxon has joined the exodus from premier climate bafflegab brewer, The American Legislative Exchange Council. Journalists have linked the dispute to a Heartland Institute proposal to try to convince government to deny that climate change poses significant risks.
Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Yelp parted company with ALEC in 2014 due to differences on climate change policy, notably ALEC providing senators and congressional Representatives with drafts of “model legislation” to limit renewable energy and EPA regulation.
“We review our memberships on an annual basis and this year we have decided to discontinue our membership in ALEC,” ExxonMobil spokesperson Scott Silvestri said in a statement Thursday. ALEC said in a reply that “Organization government relations strategies change over time, and we have valued ExxonMobil’s work and leadership with ALEC on STEM education, among other issues.”
