Google pulls support of ALEC over climate change

Google said on Monday it doesn’t plan on funding the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council in the future due to the organization’s climate change skepticism.

During an interview on NPR’s “The Diane Rehm Show,” Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said the company regretted funding a political campaign for ALEC, even though it was on a different topic.

{mosads}”I think the consensus within the company was that that was some sort of mistake and so we’re trying to not do that in the future,” Schmidt said on Monday.

When asked why Google decided to distance itself from the group, Schmidt said the company believes its decisions in politics should be “based on facts.”

“And the facts of climate change are not in question anymore. Everyone understands climate change is occurring and the people who oppose it are really hurting our children and our grandchildren and making the world a much worse place,” Schmidt said.

“And so we should not be aligned with such people — they’re just, they’re just literally lying,” he added.

In the last year, Google has made substantial buys into the renewable energy space and has committed to making its business more green, causing climate activists to question its involvement with ALEC.

Earlier this month, Google said it would contribute $145 million to a solar power plant in Southern California, the 17th renewable energy project backed by the company.