COP26: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos Pledges $2 Billion To Restore Nature On 'Fragile' Earth

Billionaire Jeff Bezos pledged $2 billion towards restoring natural habitats, and transforming food systems, at the ongoing COP26 climate change conference

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaks at COP26 summit on November 2, 2021 in Glasgow, United Kingdom | Photo: Getty

New Delhi: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has pledged $2 billion towards nature conservation.

Speaking at the ongoing COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow, Scotland, Tuesday, he dedicated the amount towards restoring natural habitats, and transforming food systems, media reports said.

The billionaire said Amazon aims to use renewable energy sources to power all its operations by 2025. "Amazon aims to power all its operations by renewable energies by 2025," he said at COP26.  

Bezos said the private industry must play a central role in the campaign to end deforestation by 2030.

He called the loss of Earth's forests "a profound and urgent danger to us all".

Bezos' pledge is part of a philanthropic effort by the Bezos Earth Fund, to which the billionaire committed $10 billion last year.

He announced that Amazon would mobilise $1 billion to end deforestation by 2030, in collaboration with Norway, the UK, and the US. 

At #COP26, Lauren and I discussed conservation of land and sea with leaders from Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, and Bolivia. Together, they oversee one of the most diverse regions on earth. The @BezosEarthFund is working with them to help create the largest (1/2) pic.twitter.com/6MQ2RsAQxC

— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 2, 2021

Bezos Says Space Travel Showed Him How 'Fragile' Earth Is

Bezos recently blasted off to space aboard the New Shepard Rocket built by his aerospace company Blue Origin.  

He told leaders at COP26 that he understood the fragility of Earth when he travelled to space, describing his journey as a revelation of the vulnerability of Earth.

"I was told that seeing the Earth from space changes the lens through which you view the world. But I was not prepared for just how much that was true," Bezos was quoted as saying.

He added: "Looking back at Earth from up there, the atmosphere seems so thin, the world so finite and so fragile. Now, in this critical year and what we all know is the decisive decade, we must all stand together to protect our world."

Bezos also said the loss of forests was particularly striking. "In too many parts of the world, nature is already flipping from carbon sink to a carbon source." 

He has also joined a campaign known as 30×30, which intends to protect at least 30 per cent of Earth's lands and waters by 2030. The plan will also help tackle a global biodiversity crisis.

In September, the Bezos Earth Fund pledged $1 billion towards nature conservation and protection of indigenous populations and cultures.

Bezos, while announcing the $2 billion pledge on Tuesday, said two-thirds of Africa's productive land was degraded but could be reversed.

Amazon had earlier announced the goal to be carbon-neutral by 2040. The company said its carbon emissions from indirect sources had increased 15 per cent within a year from 2019.