Amazon CEO and world’s richest man Jeff Bezos has announced that he is creating a $10 billion fund to combat climate change, calling it the “biggest threat to our planet.”
Bezos, who reportedly owns a Gulfstream G650ER private jet, made the announcement via Instagram on Monday. He said the Bezos Earth Fund will begin giving out grants this summer, with the money going toward supporting activists, scientists, and non-governmental organizations.
“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,” he wrote in the Instagram post.
“Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let’s protect it, together.”
Bezos announced last year that he is committing Amazon to meet the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement ten years early. The online retailer claims it will transition to zero emissions by 2030 and will add 100,000 electric delivery vehicles to its fleet by 2024.
Amazon is expected to procure the electric vehicles from Rivian, the automotive company in which Amazon has invested a reported $440 million.
Bezos reportedly purchased his Gulfstream private jet for $65 million. The aircraft seats eight people and has been used by the tech billionaire to make multiple trips to the Washington, D.C. area, where Amazon has established a new headquarters in northern Virginia.
The Washington Post revealed last year that the jet embarked on more than a dozen flights a month in 2018, many of them coming from or going to Seattle. The destinations include Los Angeles, Boston, Dallas, Miami, and New York.
Last year, Bloomberg reported that Amazon’s carbon footprint contributed more greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 than some big competitors in retail, logistics and technology, though less than rival Walmart.
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