World Wildlife Fund, World Resources Institute and Environmental Defense Fund among those to clinch six figure donations in $791 funding round
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has this week revealed the first wave of recipients to clinch funding from his $10bn Earth Fund, exactly nine months after the billionaire Amazon founder launched the programme to support the work of climate scientists, environmental activists, and other green groups.
Many of the US' largest and most prominent environmental organisations have made Bezos' shortlist, with the World Wildlife Fund, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Nature Conservancy, the World Resources Institute, and the Natural Resources Defense Council each securing $100m awards.
"I've spent the past several months learning from a group of incredibly smart people who've made it their life's work to fight climate change and its impact on communities around the world," Bezos said yesterday in an Instagram post announcing the grants. "I'm inspired by what they're doing, and excited to help them scale."
Bezos, the world's richest person, emphasised that the $791m tranche of funding was "just the beginning" of the Earth Fund's $10bn commitment. "We can all protect Earth's future by taking bold action now," he stated.
The Earth Fund, which was launched in February, aims to tackle climate change by diverting a portion of Bezos' record-breaking wealth to scientists, activists, and other organisations engaged in efforts to "preserve and protect the natural world".
Dr Andrew Steer, president and chief executive of the WRI, said the investment would support the group's efforts to electrify the entire US school bus fleet by 2030 and build a satellite-based land use monitoring system. "These initiatives will cut emissions, create a healthier environment, spur economic opportunities, and improve the lives of millions of people in the United States and around the world," he said.
Meanwhile, the NRDC said the grant would support its efforts to generate political support for ambitious climate policies, advancing climate solutions and legislation at the state level, protecting ecosystems, and accelerating regenerative agriculture programmes.
"This generous gift from the Bezos Earth Fund enables NRDC to move even faster on achieving the climate solutions we need at the federal, state and local levels to protect people's health, strengthen nature's ability to help fight climate change and grow the clean energy sector and all the jobs that come with it," said NRDC president Gina McCarthy.
A smaller slice of funding has been allocated to a number of leading advocacy, finance, and research outfits. For example, the Climate Clean Energy Equity Fund was awarded $43m, ClimateWorks Foundation received $50m, the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) was handed $10m, and the Eden Reforestation Projects was awarded $5m.
The RMI said it intends to use the funding to "significantly reduce" greenhouse gas emissions in US buildings and in the industrial and transport sectors. "Addressing the climate crisis can start with the places we hold most dear - the buildings where we live and work - while also decarbonising the way we produce and transport the materials that are the foundation of those buildings, as well as the backbone of our global economy, like steel and cement," said RMI chief executive Jules Kortenhorst.
Meanwhile, a $12m grant was awarded to Indigenous-led advocacy group NDN Collective and a $43m donation was made to the Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice.
The move came after Bezos drew criticism earlier this month for plans to funnel the lion's share of investment into prominent environmental groups that have historically focused, for the large part, on technocratic climate solutions.
Critics have urged the bilionnaire to use the fund - one of the largest charitable gifts of all time - to push the limits of existing climate philanthropy and consider supporting less-established groups that take a more radical approach to climate action, focused on environmental and racial justice.
The funding is being distributed alongside Amazon's high profile Climate Pledge initiative, which has seen the tech giant commit to delivering net zero emissions by 2040 while mobilising record investments in clean technologies, such as a global push to convert its entire fleet to zero emission vehicles.