Jeff Bezos commits $10 billion to address climate crisis through new Bezos Earth Fund

He said the grant will fund scientists, activists and NGO’s to explore new ways of fighting the impact of climate change. Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s chief executive and the world’s richest man, said on Monday that he was committing $10 billion to address the climate crisis in a new initiative he called the Bezos Earth Fund. In September, Jeff Bezos unveiled the Climate Pledge, in which he said Amazon would meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement 10 years ahead of schedule and would be carbon-neutral by 2040. The workers, through their group Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, said on Monday that although they applauded Bezos’ philanthropy, “one hand cannot give what the other is taking away.” As employees, here is our statement to Jeff Bezos' Earth Fund announcement : pic.twitter.com/opgcCpa67D — Amazon Employees For Climate Justice February 17, 2020 They added, “The people of Earth need to know: When is Amazon going to stop helping oil and gas companies ravage Earth with still more oil and gas wells? When is Amazon going to stop funding climate-denying think tanks like the Competitive Enterprise Institute and climate-delaying policy?” Margaret O’Mara, a professor at the University of Washington who studies the history of tech companies, called the new Bezos fund “a very powerful statement” and said the Amazon chief executive’s actions followed the steps that other tech moguls, such as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, had taken to address the warming planet.