In February, the world's wealthiest man, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos announced he was pledging $10 billion — about 5% of his fortune — to fighting climate change. As lofty a goal as that was, he left a lot of questions hanging in the air about how he would direct those funds.
With an announcement on Instagram on Monday, however, Bezos cleared up at least a few of those questions.
In May 2019, Amazon employees numbering in the thousands signed a letter demanding the company do more to fight climate change, and many participated in a September 2019 walkout again calling on them to take action. The company's reputation for swift deliveries has made it a online retailing behemoth but at the cost of a subsequent environmental impact.
Amazon also drew criticism for firing employees who were outspoken about climate change and pushing for more safety measures in warehouses, as CBS News reported. The company said that the employees were dismissed for repeatedly violating internal policies.
A day before the September 2019 walkout, Amazon announced "The Climate Pledge," a plan to have the company powered 100% by renewable energy by 2025 and be net-zero carbon by 2040.
Other climate initiatives include purchasing 100,000 electric vehicles for delivery as well as a $100 million investment in reforestation projects. Amazon has also committed to donating $2 billion to climate causes.
When he first announced the pledge on Instagram, without getting into specifics Bezos said that he would "work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change. This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world."
Sixteen companies and NGOs will receive a total of $791 million in the first disbursement from Bezos's climate fund.
"I've spent the past several months learning from a group of incredibly smart people who've made it their life's work to fight climate change and its impact on communities around the world," he explained in his post. "I'm inspired by what they're doing, and excited to help them scale."
The recipients include ClimateWorks Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists, World Resources Institute and World Wildlife Fund, and they'll use the money to fund a variety of projects.
The Environmental Defense Fund, for example, will receive $100 million to launch a satellite that will measure methane emissions — methane is a greenhouse gas with about 30 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Meanwhile, the Union of Concerned Scientists received $15 million to advocate for enhancements to the power grid in the U.S. and to put more electric shipping trucks on the road.
