Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is committing $10 billion to fight climate change in a new initiative called the Bezos Earth Fund.
The pledge was just “to start,” he said in an Instagram post.
Announcing the new initiative on Monday, Bezos said the funding would back scientists, activists and government organizations working to mitigate the impact of climate change
MSN reports: He said he expected to start issuing grants this summer.
“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.”
Mr. Bezos has historically done little philanthropy, though he has lately ramped up his giving. His largest donation to date was $2 billion, unveiled in September 2018, to help homeless families and build a network of Montessori preschools, an effort that he announced with his then-wife, MacKenzie.’
In September, Mr. Bezos unveiled the Climate Pledge, committing Amazon to meeting the goals of the Paris climate agreement 10 years ahead of schedule and to be carbon neutral by 2040. As part of the pledge, Mr. Bezos said Amazon was ordering 100,000 electric delivery trucks from Rivian, a Michigan-based company that Amazon has invested in.