United States. Amazon and Global Optimism announced The Climate Pledge, a commitment to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years earlier. Amazon becomes the first signatory to this promise. The Climate Commitment calls on signatories to be net zero carbon emissions in their businesses by 2040, a decade before the 2050 Paris Agreement target.
Companies that sign The Climate Pledge accept:
Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis;
Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, material reduction and other carbon elimination strategies;
Neutralize remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net annual net carbon emissions by 2040.
"We're done being in the middle of the pack on this issue; we have decided to use our size and scale to make a difference," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon. "If a company with as much physical infrastructure as Amazon, which delivers more than 10 billion items a year, can meet the Paris Agreement 10 years earlier, then any company can do it. I've been talking to other CEOs of global companies, and I'm finding a lot of interest in joining the pledge. Large companies signing The Climate Pledge will send an important signal to the market that it is time to invest in the products and services that signatories will need to meet their commitments."
Two years ago, Amazon made a long-term commitment to powering its global infrastructure with 100% renewable energy. Amazon is now committed to reaching 80% renewable energy by 2024 and 100% renewable energy by 2030 on its way to net zero carbon by 2040. Large investments in renewable energy are a critical step in addressing its carbon footprint globally.
To date, Amazon has launched 15 utility-scale wind and solar renewable energy projects that will generate more than 1,300 MW of renewable capacity and deliver more than 3.8 million MWh of clean energy annually, enough to power 368,000 American homes. Amazon has also installed more than 50 solar rooftops in distribution centers and sorting centers around the world that generate 98 MW of renewable capacity and deliver 130,000 MWh of clean energy annually.
The company also launched the Right Now Climate Fund, committing $100 million to restore and protect forests, wetlands and peatlands around the world in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. The Right Now Climate Fund will help remove millions of metric tons of carbon from the atmosphere during the project's lifetime and create economic opportunities for thousands of people.
