Bezos’s $10B climate fund gives $791M in grants

Jeff Bezos has announced the first grant recipients from $10 billion (U.S.) pledged to combat climate change, earmarking $791 million for donations to environmental organizations.

The first 16 groups receiving donations from the Amazon.com Inc. founder’s Bezos Earth Fund include nonprofit stalwarts such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the World Wildlife Fund. The announcement came Monday in an Instagram post, where Bezos also revealed the fund’s existence in February. At the time, he said it would begin issuing grants in the summer.

Contributions, detailed in press releases by some recipients, include $10 million for the Rocky Mountain Institute’s work reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and $100 million each to the EDF, WWF and World Resources Institute.

Bezos, the world’s richest person, had been criticized for a paltry philanthropic record before ramping up his contributions in recent years. His company, meanwhile, faced a revolt from employees who said Amazon had been slow to address its effect on climate change. The world’s largest online retailer has since announced plans to eliminate and offset its contribution to greenhouse gases warming the planet.

Other grant recipients include the Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, the Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Union of Concerned Scientists.