Amazon's environmental practises have also been criticised by its employees. At the UN climate change conference, COP26, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the world's second-richest man, pledged $2 billion toward restoring nature and transforming food systems.
On Tuesday, Bezos told delegates in Glasgow, "Nature is beautiful, but it is also fragile.”
“I was reminded of this in July when I went into space with Blue Origin. I was told seeing the earth from space changes the lens through which you view the world, but I was not prepared for just how much that would be true.”
The $2 billion is in addition to the $1 billion he pledged in September to support conservation efforts. This money comes from the Bezos Earth Fund, a $10 billion initiative that he launched in February 2020 with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions and transitioning to a more environmentally friendly environment. By 2030, all of the funds will have been distributed.
While $1 billion will be spent on landscape restoration, with a focus on Africa at first (with efforts towards planting trees on degraded landscapes, revitalising grasslands, integrating trees into farmland). The remaining $1 billion will be used to transform food and agricultural systems so that life can continue without degrading the environment.
