How Beneficial Can Jeff Bezos’ $10 Billion be to the Environment
On February 17, Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and currently the richest man alive, pledged to donate $10 billion towards curbing climate change. ‘The Bezos Earth Fund’, as he calls it, is one of the largest philanthropic efforts in recent history amounting to 7.7% of Bezos’ net worth. This effort has come as a result of years of backlash from employers and external parties over the lack of initiative Amazon has taken in reducing its dire environmental impact.
This backlash towards Amazon heightened when, in September, the company decided to publicly release the size of its carbon footprint. “(Amazon) emitted about 44.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2018 — the equivalent of burning almost 600,000 tanker trucks’ worth of gasoline” (1). In an attempt to counter their long term negative impact, Amazon launched the ‘Climate Pledge’, where they agreed to meet the needs of the 2016 Paris Agreement and to be carbon neutral by the year 2040. Yet many of the firm’s employees have issued public statements over how the company is both able to and must do far more to support their cause.
One of the areas of discussion over the sum of money Bezos is donating is the timeline by which the money will be distributed. In the tweet published by Bezos, it is in no way specified the time span under which this money will be spent, stirring up further controversy over his plan. David Callahan, the editor of Inside Philanthropy, claimed that the money is a large sum that would be instrumental in preventing further environmental degradation. However, “$10 billion that’s going to be spent over 20 years, (is) really different than $10 billion spent in one year for immediate projects or for research or for advocacy.”
Furthermore, this biggest argument against Bezos is his lack of focus on the work of his company. Critics often claim that a far more beneficial step for Amazon would be to stop working with the fossil fuel industry. Currently, Amazon, in combination with Microsoft and Google, uses artificial intelligence to help fossil fuel companies gain easier access to oil sources for a smoother and more efficient extraction process. Amazon has also actively tried to shut down workers who have spoken up against the company over its negative environmental impact. Many critics argue that the money Bezos aims to donate will only be effective once Amazon allows its workers to speak freely and directly stops contributing to the extraction and usage of harmful fossil fuels.
Edited by: Matthew Takavarasha
