Google will stop supporting climate change science deniers, calls them liars

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt today said it was a “mistake” to support the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a group that has said human-created climate change could be “beneficial” and opposes environmental regulations. Schmidt said groups trying to cast doubt on climate change science are "just literally lying."

Google’s membership in ALEC has been criticized because of the group’s stance on climate change and its opposition to network neutrality rules and municipal broadband. Earlier this month, Google refused to comment after 50 advocacy groups called on the company to end its affiliation with ALEC.

That changed today when Schmidt appeared on The Diane Rehm Show and was asked by a listener whether Google is still supporting ALEC. The listener described ALEC as “lobbyists in DC that are funding climate change deniers.”

Schmidt responded, “we funded them as part of a political campaign for something unrelated. I think the consensus within the company was that was sort of a mistake, and so we’re trying to not do that in the future.”

Schmidt did not say what issue led Google to support ALEC. Yelp reportedly joined ALEC to fight so-called "Strategic lawsuits against public participation," but it's not clear if Google had the same motivation. We contacted Google’s public relations department today but haven’t heard back.

Schmidt did not comment on ALEC’s stances on net neutrality and municipal broadband, but criticized the group's position on climate change.

“The company has a very strong view that we should make decisions in politics based on facts, what a shock, and the facts of climate change are not in question anymore,” Schmidt said. “Everyone understands that climate change is occurring, and the people who oppose it are really hurting our children and grandchildren and making the world a much worse place. And so we should not be aligned with such people. They’re just literally lying.”

Google was a member of ALEC’s Communications and Technology Task Force, along with Facebook, Microsoft, and Yahoo. Microsoft cut ties with ALEC recently.

ALEC task forces write model legislation that can be introduced into statehouses and potentially become law. The group helped pass numerous state laws that make it difficult for cities and towns to compete against private ISPs by offering their own Internet service.

On climate change, ALEC offers model legislation proposing the formation of an Interstate Research Commission on Climatic Change.

The bill says human activity “may lead to deleterious, neutral, or possibly beneficial climatic changes” and that “a great deal of scientific uncertainty surrounds the nature of these prospective changes, and the cost of regulation to inhibit such changes may lead to great economic dislocation.”

ALEC has also pushed legislation requiring schools to teach climate change denial or skepticism.

UPDATE: ALEC CEO Lisa Nelson issued a statement in response to Google's departure, saying, "It is unfortunate to learn Google has ended its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council as a result of public pressure from left-leaning individuals and organizations who intentionally confuse free market policy perspectives for climate change denial."

At ALEC's recent annual meeting, Google participated in a roundtable conversation "regarding renewable energy deployment and climate change," Nelson said. The roundtable included a variety of companies and was "intended to build understanding and pioneer future policy approaches where organizations could find common ground on issues of climate change, energy generation and government mandates."

“In the case of energy generation, ALEC believes renewable energy should expand based on consumer demand, not as a result of a government mandate," Nelson also said. "Many misunderstand the American Legislative Exchange Council and its legislator-led, free market priorities. ALEC members believe the Federal Government exerts too much control on state and local decision-making. Google’s renewable energy commitment—as well as those found throughout private industry—is completely consistent with ALEC policy because the companies in question chose renewables absent a mandate."