Conservative group fights climate skeptic label

The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is threatening rival groups with legal action over their accusation that the group denies the science behind climate change.

ALEC recently sent letters to two groups asking them to “cease making false statements” and “remove all false or misleading material,” The Washington Post reported.

{mosads}Both the League of Conservation Voters and Common Cause have said that ALEC, through the policies it lobbies for in states, denies the scientific consensus that humans are significantly changing the climate.

The groups said they would not follow ALEC’s demands, and told the Post that based on ALEC’s model legislation for states, their accusations are on solid ground.

ALEC, among other policies, encourages states to fight regulations and laws meant to combat climate change, like the Environmental Protection Agency’s carbon rules for power plants.

Major corporate members of the group like Google, Facebook, BP and Yahoo have dropped their support in recent years, and some have cited ALEC’s climate positions in doing so.

Google chairman Eric Schmidt said last year that ALEC was “literally lying” about climate change.