His company is often criticized for its environmental record, but Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon and the world's richest man, said yesterday that he was committing US$10 billion (HK$78 billion to a new fund to tackle climate change.
In a post on Instagram, the e-commerce tycoon said the Bezos Earth Fund would "fund scientists, activists, NGOs - any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world."
"Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet," said Bezos, whose net worth is estimated to be around US$130 billion.
Hundreds of Amazon employees last month signed a blog criticizing the online retail giant's climate policies and demanding it do more to tackle climate change.
Amazon has been accused of creating vast amounts of waste from the packaging it uses for doorstep deliveries, as well as for the greenhouse gas emissions from huge fleets of vehicles.
The company, which in December said its workforce had hit 750,000, has also been denounced over its carbon footprint because of the high energy consumption of its server farms for its lucrative cloud computing activities.
"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," Bezos said in announcing the fund.
Bezos, who maintained his status as the world's richest person despite an expensive divorce last year, said his new foundation would begin issuing grants later this year.
The fund was described as Bezos' biggest philanthropic commitment.
Last September, he said Amazon would pledge to become carbon neutral by 2040 and vowed that the company would order 100,000 electric delivery trucks.
