Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has committed $10 billion (around £7.7bn) to help fight climate change.
The tech titan and world’s richest man has founded the Bezos Earth Fund, which will be dished out among scientists, activists and non-governmental organisations (NGO) dedicated to researching and fighting the climate crisis.
Bezos, who revealed his largest philanthropic effort yet via an Instagram post, intends to start issuing grants this summer. In a rallying call the Amazon CEO called on humanity to come together to save Earth.
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“Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am launching the Bezos Earth Fund,” he wrote on his personal account, accompanied by a satellite image of the Earth.
“Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. 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. This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs – any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world.
“We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organisations, and individuals. I’m committing $10bn to start and will begin issuing grants this summer. Earth is the one thing we all have in common – let’s protect it, together.”
Following pressure from Amazon employees, Bezos had previously pledged Amazon would be carbon neutral by 2040, meeting the goals set out by the Paris climate agreement a full decade early. Amazon is also adding a 100,000 of electric vehicles to its delivery fleet.
The $10 billion sum committed today comes to around 8% of Bezos’ estimated $130 billion fortune (£100 billion), and is less than a third of what he forked over in a recent divorce settlement.
As well as Amazon, Bezos owns the Blue Origin private space company and The Washington Post newspaper.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
