The billionaire owner of Amazon and the Washington Post, Jeff Bezos, announced on Instagram the “Bezos Earth Fund”, which is expected to launch in the summer of 2020. This is an initiative that Jeff Bezos undertook following requests and pressures received from Amazonto deal more actively with the issue of environmental protection. This is an issue of major importance, as the phenomenon of climate change is constantly worsening and therefore the immediate mobilization and cooperation of organizations from all over the world is necessary. Thus, Bezos is going to offer an amount of 10 billion dollars to contribute to the “launch” of this action.
It is worth noting that the $10 billion amount represents just 8% of Bezos' total fortune, which is estimated at around $130 billion, placing Bezos first on the list of the richest people on the planet.
Bezos's initiative is one of the largest philanthropic commitments ever, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, following the $36 billion pledge made by Warren Buffet in 2006 and the $16.4 billion pledge by Helen Walton, the last wife of Walmart founder Sam Walton, in 2007.
In addition, Bezos pledged to be coal-free by 2040, ten years ahead of the deadline set by the Paris Agreement on climate change. He also spoke of 100,000 electric delivery trucks by 2024. Bezos stressed that collective action and cooperation from large companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations and individuals is needed, while at the same time limiting the consumption of fossil fuels to address the problem of climate change, which is the greatest threat facing our planet. Finally, he expressed his desire to collaborate with others and utilize every possible means to combat the devastating effects of climate change.
