--- title: "Bezos Coughs Up Pathetic 7% of Net Worth to Fight Climate Change" description: "In an Instagram post, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced he is dedicating $10 billion of his net worth to combat climate change." date: "2020-02-18" modified: "2020-02-18" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/jeff-bezos-10-billion-climate-change" categories: - "Climate Change" - "Environment" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "Amazon" - "climate change" - "jeff bezos" --- # Bezos Coughs Up Pathetic 7% of Net Worth to Fight Climate Change ![In an Instagram post, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced he is dedicating $10 billion of his net worth to combat climate change.]() *\Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\* In an Instagram post, Jeff Bezos announced a pledge: $10 billion to combat climate change — a mere 7.7 percent of his $130 billion net worth. To some, it's the epitome of generosity — to others, his decision will sound hollow and void of meaning. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8rWKFnnQ5c/?utm_source=ig_embed "This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world," wrote the Amazon CEO in his post. "We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals.⁣" Sure, $10 billion's plenty of money, but Bezos himself is at the helm of a company that's had a rocky relationship with efforts to protect the environment in the past. A growing number of Amazon employees, who formed the "Amazon Employees for Climate Justice," have spent most of 2019 urging their employer to cut ties with fossil fuel companies and eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, among other demands, through [organizing walkouts](). Amazon didn't handle its employees fighting for a healthier planet very well, either. In (the newspaper Bezos owns) [a *Washington Post* report]() in January revealed that Amazon told two employees they had violated Amazon's company communications policy by criticizing the company's environmental impact in October, and [threatened to fire them](). The e-commerce giant has made moves recently trying to clean up its act. The company made a pledge in September to go carbon neutral by 2040 and make deliveries using some 100,000 electric vehicles by 2030 — built of course by a new startup that Amazon [is itself invested in](). And its act is far from clean right now. Amazon is still a massive polluter in 2020, contributing considerably to the problem of climate change. In September, Amazon revealed it's emitted about 44.4 million metric tons of CO2 in 2018, putting it in the same ranks as oil and gas producers, as [*The New York Times* reports](). And then there's Bezos' own commitment to this planet. Bezos has spent a considerable amount of his time and fortune on developing ways to explore and even colonize space and beyond through his company Blue Origins. "If you want to protect the Earth, save the Earth, we have to go to space," he [said]() during a speech a year ago. **READ MORE:** [Jeff Bezos Commits $10 Billion to Address Climate Change]() \[*The New York Times*\] **More on Bezos:** *[Report: Saudi Crown Prince Hacked WaPo Owner Jeff Bezos’ Phone]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()