Bezos creates fund to fight climate change
Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos announced that he’s created the Bezos Earth Fund, his biggest-ever philanthropic investment to help counter the effects of climate change.
Bezos is starting with $10 billion and will begin to issue grants in a few months. “It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations and individuals,” he said Monday in a post on Instagram. “We can save Earth.”
“Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet,” he wrote. “I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.”
Bezos has in the past done little philanthropy. With a net worth of $130 billion, he long preferred to focus on Amazon and other private ventures, such as Blue Origin, which makes rockets. Bezos also owns the Washington Post.
Bezos, the world’s richest person, is under pressure to balance Amazon’s need to deliver goods quickly with the environmental consequences of the rapid growth of online shopping. There is tension within Amazon on the issue, with some employees saying the company isn’t doing enough and that there is a threat of punishment for those who are too outspoken on the matter.
The company last year said it would reach 80 percent renewable energy use by 2024 and 100 percent by 2030, up from 40 percent today. The effort relies on a fleet of electric vehicles. The moves came after a worker group, Amazon Employees For Climate Justice, staged a protest and wrote a shareholder proposal based on their concerns.
The group said Monday that it applauds Bezos’ philanthropy, but that it doesn’t change criticism about the way Amazon operates — not just with regard to shipping, but also the data center energy used for its cloud storage business, propping up the fossil fuels industry.
“What this shows is that employees speaking out works,” the group said in an emailed statement. “We need more of that right now.”
In theory, online shopping could benefit the environment if it resulted in fewer vehicle trips to stores and customers placed large orders infrequently. In reality, shoppers still browse in stores and order online when they’re ready to purchase. Amazon Prime, a subscription program that includes delivery discounts, allows people to make frequent small orders without penalty, resulting in a larger number of vehicle trips and more boxes than if orders were placed less frequently in batches.
Bezos’ other major personal investment is in space travel, which he has also at times called necessary because of the instability of Earth’s climate. For years, Bezos didn’t pursue major philanthropic projects, leading to public pressure as his wealth rose.
The billionaire has recently started offloading some of his Amazon stake. Between Jan. 31 and Feb. 6, he sold 2 million shares, worth $4.1 billion, as part of a prearranged trading plan. It’s not just for philanthropy; he recently agreed to buy a $165 million Beverly Hills mansion, and he has started playing around in the art market, people familiar with the matter have said.