Jeff Bezos Names 16 Recipients Of $10B Earth Fund, Combating Climate Change

Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN CEO Jeff Bezos on Monday announced the first 16 recipients of the Earth Fund launched to combat climate change.

What Happened: In 2019, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge— a commitment to be net zero carbon across Amazon's business by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.

The group has been committed to making all Amazon shipments net zero carbon through Shipment Zero, with 50% of all shipments net zero carbon by 2030.

In February 2020, Bezos announced the launch of a $10-billion Earth Fund that will issue grants aimed at addressing climate change.

Amazon had faced criticism for the company’s weak commitment to tackling the issue. The fund is designed to invest in scientists, activists and other organizations combating the effects of climate change.

Bezos shared a post on Instagram explaining how he has been learning in recent months from people who have made it their life’s work to fight climate change and its impact on communities around the world.

“I’m inspired by what they’re doing, and excited to help them scale. Today, I’m pleased to announce the first Bezos Earth Fund recipients — 16 organizations working on innovative, ambitious and needle-moving solutions. This $791 million in donations is just the beginning of my $10 billion commitment to fund scientists, activists, NGOs, and others. We can all protect Earth’s future by taking bold action now,” said Bezos via Instagram.

The Grantees: The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, ClimateWorks Foundation, Dream Corps Green For All, Eden Reforestation Projects, Energy Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, The Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Nature Conservancy, NDN Collective, Rocky Mountain Institute, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, The Solutions Project, Union of Concerned Scientists, World Resources Institute and World Wildlife Fund are recipients.

Why It’s Important:  In November, the U.S. became the first nation to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement. President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement in June 2017.

It is likely that the U.S. will rejoin the Paris Agreement under President-elect Joe Biden. 

AMZN Price Action: Amazon shares were trading down 0.44% at $3,114.89 at last check Monday. The stock has a 52-week high of $3,552.25 and a 52-week low of $1,626.03.

Related Link: Amazon Reports Huge Q2 Earnings Growth