Is Jeff Bezos serious about protecting the environment?

The Bezos Earth Fund, set up by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is awarding 44 grants totalling $443 million to organisations focused on climate justice and nature conservation.

“The goal of the Bezos Earth Fund is to support change agents who are seizing the challenges that this decisive decade presents,” said Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund. “Through these grants, we are advancing climate justice and the protection of nature, two areas that demand stronger action.”

However, many climate campaigners have criticised the billionaire’s efforts as greenwashing, pointing out the massive carbon footprint of Amazon and Bezos’ space programme.

1. What is the Bezos Earth Fund?

   Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of online retail behemoth Amazon, announced the establishment of the Bezos Earth Fund in February 2020. The philanthropic initiative will see him hand out $10bn in donations to environmental groups to address the climate crisis.

   “Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “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.”

   Meanwhile, Amazon has pledged to reach net-zero carbon by 2040 and power the company’s operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025.

   The company also has a $2bn Climate Pledge Fund to invest in low-carbon technologies.

2. Where is the money going?

   The most recent donation will see $130 million go to advancing the Justice40 initiative in the US, $261 million to further the 30x30 initiative to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030, and $51 million to support land restoration in the US and Africa.

   The first tranche of funding gifted a total of $791 million (about eight per cent of the total) to 16 green groups, the majority “legacy” organisations with a proven track record like the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Environmental Defense Fund, the World Wildlife Fund and the Nature Conservancy.

   Those four are understood to have received $100 million each.

3. Why is Bezos criticised by environmental and social justice groups?

   Many critics say Bezos’s efforts to stop climate change are hollow given his background. Amazon has long faced criticism for its environmental impact, and in June reported its carbon footprint had risen by 19% as it rushed to deliver a surge of online orders during the pandemic.

   The online shopping behemoth said activities tied to its businesses emitted 60.64 million metric tons of carbon dioxide last year — the equivalent of burning through 140 million barrels of oil.

   Amazon’s carbon footprint has risen every year since 2018, when it first disclosed its carbon footprint after employees pressured it to do so.

   Amazon has also been targeted by campaigners for its alleged exploitative and environmentally destructive business practices and disregard for workers’ rights in the name of company profits.

   And Bezos has been slammed for the $10bn amount, which accounts for just 17.7 per cent of his estimated personal fortune.

   “A reminder that Jeff Bezos has made over $48 billion during the pandemic while over 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment,” the Sunrise Movement tweeted, before the final extent of his haul from goods sales during the pandemic became known.

   “Imagine if he actually had to pay taxes and what that money could help fund.”

   And the Criminal Justice Alliance (CJA), said: “No amount of greenwashing will absolve Jeff Bezos or Amazon of the harm they have inflicted on frontline communities and workers, or our planet.

   “If the Earth Fund wants to purport to save the planet, they should send funds directly to grassroots communities who are the least responsible and hardest hit by climate disaster and the kinds of rapacious business practices Bezos engages in.”

   Amazon said it offers workers “excellent pay and benefits and ensures that safety is a priority, that everyone is supported, treated with dignity and respect, gets regular breaks, and works at a comfortable pace”.

4. What about his rocket launches?

   Some campaigners say it is hypocritical for Bezos to own space exploration firm Blue Origin while preaching about climate change.

   Bezos became the second billionaire to ride his own rocket into space on 20 July when his company’s New Shepard craft blasted off from Van Horn in West Texas.

   Traditional rocket emissions trigger chemical reactions that deplete the ozone layer, experts Martin Ross and James Vedda warned in a 2018 report on the subject.

   Space launches also inject particles into the stratosphere that absorb and reflect solar energy, heating the stratosphere while cooling the surface.

   However, Blue Origin’s rockets are powered by a mix of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The propellants are much cleaner than conventional rocket fuel.