Amazon Announces $2 Billion Climate Pledge Fund to invest in green energy

Online retail giant Amazon has announced a $2 billion Climate Pledge Fund, a venture capital fund, in order to support green energy developments to fight climate change.

The goal of Amazon and other companies who have signed The Climate Pledge is to be net zero by 2040, a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement target. The Climate Pledge was founded on September 19, 2019, by Amazon and Global Optimism. Verizon, health and hygiene product company Reckitt Benckiser, and Infosys recently joined the pledge.

The Climate Pledge Fund will invest in companies in multiple industries, including transportation and logistics, energy generation, storage and utilization, manufacturing and materials, circular economy, and food and agriculture.

Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO, said:

Companies from around the world of all sizes and stages will be considered, from pre-product startups to well-established enterprises. Each prospective investment will be judged on its potential to accelerate the path to zero carbon and help protect the planet for future generations.

Other Amazon initiatives

Amazon delivers about 10 billion items a year and has a massive transportation and data center footprint. It has faced protests from environmental activists and pressure from its employees to take action on climate change. But Amazon is on a path to run on 100% green energy by 2025, five years ahead of schedule.

Further, it’s announced 91 renewable energy projects globally. These projects will total over 2,900MW of capacity and will deliver more than 7.6 million MWh of renewable energy annually, enough to power 680,000 US homes.

In September 2019, Amazon announced that it had ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian. Electrek’s Fred Lambert took a closer look at the e-van in February.

Also, in February, Bezos committed about $10 billion to fund scientists, activists, nonprofits, and other groups to fight climate change.

Amazon released its 2019 sustainability report yesterday, which you can read here.

Electrek’s Take

Amazon’s sales are surging due to the pandemic (but their costs have also gone up), and their long-term prospects are positive. It’s providing an essential service for millions of people who can’t go to brick and mortar stores.

So it’s only right that it aggressively tackles the pressing crisis of climate change, and every initiative the retail giant implements is welcome.