Seattle-based tech giant Amazon, as part of its 2019 “Climate pledge” will be investing $2 billion in clean energy to reduce the impact of climate change, after being scrutinized and criticized for its carbon footprint.
The Climate Pledge Fund as it’s called, will invest in companies across various industries such as energy generation, manufacturing, food and agriculture, battery storage, and transportation. Last September, CEO Jeff Bezos committed to meet the Paris Agreement a decade earlier, with “net zero” carbon emissions across Amazon’s businesses by 2040.
With the increase in sales last year, the carbon footprint of Amazon increased by 15%, equivalent of 51.17 million metric tons of CO2 as well.
Though Amazon didn’t mention the time frame, it said the “initial funding” of $2 billion could grow over time. The company also announced to secure 100% of its electricity through renewable resources by 2025, with the development of solar and wind projects. In addition to that, Bezos also pledged $10 billion for the Bezos Earth fund to fight climate change.
In the following years, Amazon has earned a placeholder to come up with innovative technology such as the Alexa Fund in 2015 and the electric vehicle start-up Rivian last year.