Royal Dutch Shell
have announced they will end their membership of the far-right American
Legislative Exchange Council (Alec) because of its continuing denial of
the science of climate change. In a statement released on Friday, a Shell spokesman said: “Alec
advocates for specific economic growth initiatives, but its stance on
climate change is clearly inconsistent with our own.”
Shell joins fellow oil major BP
in a corporate exodus from the conservative, free-market lobby group.
Shell’s decision comes after sustained pressure from campaign groups, in
particular the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), for Shell to stop funding Alec. The group’s position statement on climate change calls it an “historical phenomenon”. “The debate will continue on the significance of natural and anthropogenic contributions,” it reads. Alec has lead an assault on renewable energy that observers are concerned could significantly hamper the industry. The move was flagged by Shell CEO Ben van Beurden in an interview with the Guardian
in May when he was confronted over the company’s continued funding of
climate denial. He defended Shell’s membership on the grounds that Alec
worked on a broad range of policy issues, but “watch this space”, he
said...more
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