Jeff Bezos Launches $10 Billion Bezos Earth Fund To Fight Climate Change

Jeff Bezos has been under fire from all sides for not doing enough for philanthropy. 

Now, the richest man on Earth pledged $10 billion to fight climate change, in a desperate bid to help the planet and likely his personal brand.

In contrast with other tech titans like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett, Bezos is mostly known for his Blue Origin dream and his contributions towards exploring space, not necessarily fixing Earth.

Just last month, his $690,000 contribution to helping Australia recover from the bushfires made a Gizmodo editor (and then the Twittersphere) hilariously wonder why an Instagram model selling nudes managed to contribute more.  

Either because of public pressure to do more good with his funds or due to the escalating climate change issues, Jeff Bezos announced he earmarked $10 billion for the Bezos Earth Fund. 

An Instagram post on his official profile announced the initiative, set to combat what he and countless scientists call “the biggest threat to our planet”.

His message pledges $10 billion to be issued starting this summer in grants to scientists, activists and NGOs. 

Will this satisfy detractors? Based on what we’ve seen, that’s unlikely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am launching the Bezos Earth Fund.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ 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 organizations, and individuals. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ I’m committing $10 billion to start and will begin issuing grants this summer. Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let’s protect it, together.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ – Jeff

A post shared by Jeff Bezos (@jeffbezos) on Feb 17, 2020 at 10:00am PST

QZ and other publications highlighted that, while the contribution is generous, nowhere does Bezos mention Amazon’s own involvement in climate change. 

Then, a group of Amazon employees who staged a climate change walkout back in September challenged the founder yet again with a series of hard questions posted in an official response on Medium. 

“When is Amazon going to stop helping oil & gas companies ravage Earth with still more oil and gas wells? When is Amazon going to stop funding climate-denying think tanks like the Competitive Enterprise Institute and climate-delaying policy? When will Amazon take responsibility for the lungs of children near its warehouses by moving from diesel to all-electric trucking?

Why did Amazon threaten to fire employees who were sounding the alarm about Amazon’s role in the climate crisis and our oil and gas business?” 

Something tells us they won’t receive a timely reply.