“ALEC advocates for specific economic growth initiatives, but its stance on climate change is clearly inconsistent with our own,” Shell spokesman Curtis Smith told Alaska Dispatch News. “We have long recognized both the importance of the climate challenge and the critical role energy has in determining quality of life for people across the world.”
Shell has a strained relationship with environmental groups over its Arctic drilling plans, but the company has long advocated for a price on carbon to deal with climate change.
ALEC has lobbied heavily in opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to limit carbon emissions, and provided model legislation passed in many states to prevent them from complying with the Clean Power Plan. Alaska’s power plants will not be subject to the final rule issued last week.
Shell’s membership with ALEC, which primarily connects corporations and state legislators across the country, will lapse early next year, Smith said.
