Friday 21 February 2020

World's richest person, Jeff Bezos gives $10 billion to fight climate change

By Mike Wall - Space.com Senior Writer Feb. 19, 2020

(Image: © Shutterstock)

The Bezos Earth Fund will start issuing grants this summer.

The fight against climate change is getting a big infusion of cash.

The world's richest person, Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, announced on Monday (Feb. 17) that he's starting an organization devoted to that pressing cause — and he's putting in $10 billion of his own money to get it off the ground.

The new Bezos Earth Fund "will fund scientists, activists, NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world," the billionaire wrote in an Instagram post Monday, which described climate change as "the biggest threat to our planet."


But some people are calling for Bezos — who is worth about $130 billion — to do even more for our planet, as NPR noted.

"We applaud Jeff Bezos' philanthropy, but one hand cannot give what the other is taking away," Amazon Employees For Climate Justice said in a statement Monday, which was released via Twitter.

"The people of Earth need to know: When is Amazon going to stop helping oil & gas companies ravage Earth with still more oil and gas wells?" the statement added. "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?"



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