$1 billion has been pledged to conservation initiatives by Jeff Bezos' climate fund.

 

By 2030, the Pledge hopes to safeguard 30% of land and sea from major extinctions and climate change.

The Bezos Earth Fund announced a $1 billion investment on Monday to assist conserve the fragile environments and indigenous peoples throughout the world, with an emphasis on the Congo Basin, tropical Andes, and the tropical Pacific Ocean. The $1 billion pledge aims to safeguard 30% of land and sea by 2030 from major extinctions and climate change.

The pledge is the largest to date from the $10 billion funds established by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to combat climate change last year. Disbursements will begin this year, with a focus on places with high needs and potential, as well as areas where indigenous peoples play an important role in conservation projects.

"We can have both the advantages of our contemporary life and a healthy natural environment by joining together with the proper focus and inventiveness," Bezos, one of the world's wealthiest individuals, said in a statement. "I hope that by making this promise, people will be inspired to safeguard and conserve the environment and contribute to the battle against climate change. A job of this magnitude needs a large number of allies."

Bezos, who stepped down as Amazon's CEO in July, has long championed his company's numerous climate efforts. Amazon has invested in a network of wind and solar farms as part of a long-term objective of using 100 percent renewable energy to power its worldwide infrastructure.

However, Amazon has been chastised for its role in climate change, notably for the increasing carbon footprint left by its fleet of aircraft, trucks, and vans that carry items to Amazon consumers. Several Amazon employees have expressed disappointment with Bezos' September 2019 vow to make the firm carbon neutral by 2040, compared to Microsoft's commitment to be carbon negative by 2030.

The fund announced earlier this month that it will invest $203.7 million this year in the fight against climate change, with the majority of the money going to organizations that support the Justice40 Initiative, a program launched by the Biden administration to ensure that disadvantaged communities benefit from federal investments in climate and clean energy efforts.