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eBay Drops ALEC After Pressure From Environmental Groups; Activists Set Sights on AT&T, UPS

On Thursday, after months of pressure from climate change activists, eBay confirmed its departure from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).“This is a major victory for those of us who have continued to pressure eBay executives to drop ALEC,” said Ryan Canney, Senior Campaigner with Forecast the Facts. “Denying climate change has no place in the modern economy, and this decision shows the credibility of eBay’s commitment to climate change.”

By Sustainable Brands | Published 10 years ago | About a 2 minute read

On Thursday, after months of pressure from climate change activists, eBay confirmed its departure from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

“This is a major victory for those of us who have continued to pressure eBay executives to drop ALEC,” said Ryan Canney, Senior Campaigner with Forecast the Facts. “Denying climate change has no place in the modern economy, and this decision shows the credibility of eBay’s commitment to climate change.”

Over the past six months, key players in the tech community — including Microsoft, Google, Facebook and AOL — have left ALEC due to its denial of climate change science. As Chairman Eric Schmidt of Google stated, “they’re literally lying on climate change.”

Outgoing CEO John Donahoe recently confirmed eBay’s pro-environmental position when questioned by Brant Olson, Campaign Director at Forecast the Facts, stating: “We are only with them [ALEC] on one issue: Internet,” and “we are not with them” on climate change.

“With eBay out, we’re looking to AT&T, Verizon, FedEx and UPS to follow suit and distance themselves from ALEC’s extreme climate denial agenda,” said Canney. “If they choose to stay with ALEC, we’ll be taking the issue to their customers, shareholders and employees.”

The victory for environmental activists comes on the heels of a sustained campaign, including the recent delivery of nearly 100,000 petition signatures to eBay’s San Jose headquarters on Thursday.