Page 39 - pet225ebook

Exercise 7

Read the newspaper report and answer the following question.

NEW YORK (Reuters): Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos will commit US$10bil to
fund scientists, activists, non-profits and other groups fighting to protect the environment and

counter the effects of climate change, he said on Monday (Feb 17).

Cutting emissions will be challenging for Amazon. The e-commerce company delivers 10
billion items a year, has a massive transportation and data centre footprint, and has faced

criticism from within its own workforce.

Bezos, the world's richest man, is among a growing list of billionaires to dedicate substantial
funds to battling the impact of global warming.

"Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet," Bezos said in an Instagram post. "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."

The Bezos Earth Fund will begin issuing grants this summer as part of the initiative.

"It's going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states,

global organisations, and individuals," Bezos said.

Counteracting climate change has become a popular cause for US billionaires in recent years,

with Microsoft's Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg and hedge fund manager Tom Steyer

counted among the world's wealthiest environmental philanthropists.

Last year, Bezos pledged to make online retailer Amazon net carbon neutral by 2040 – the
first major corporation to announce such a goal – and to buy 100,000 electric delivery

vehicles from US vehicle design and manufacturing start-up Rivian Automotive LLC.

Bezos also said at the time that Amazon would meet the goals of the Paris climate accord 10

years ahead of the accord's schedule and invest US$100mil to restore forests and wetlands.

Amazon has faced protests by environmental activists and pressure from its employees to

take action on climate change.