Amazon announced on February 3 that the company’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will step down from his post in the third quarter of 2021 and Andy Jassy, the head of the cloud computing unit, will take the place as its new CEO. Bezos said that after his transition to the role of executive chairman, he will stay engaged in important Amazon initiatives, while also spare his time to focus on the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, The Washington Post, and others.

Jeff Bezos has contributed a lot to sustainable development and climate change in the past few years. Bezos made the single-largest charitable contribution in 2020, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s annual list of top donations, a USD10bn gift aiming at dealing with climate change. He used the money to launch his Bezos Earth Fund. The fund, which supports nonprofit organizations (NPO) involved in the climate crisis, has paid out USD790m to 16 environmental organizations largely focusing on researching and implementing ways to reduce carbon emissions, build green jobs, and restore wildlife.

Specifically, five big-name environmental NPOs, the Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, World Resources Institute, and World Wildlife Fund, each received USD100m. Those grants will fund projects that track and mitigate the effects of climate changes, including protecting and restoring mangroves, developing satellite fleets to monitor carbon dioxide and methane emissions, and electrifying U.S. school buses. Other recipients included pass-through organizations that make grants to smaller NPOs working against climate change, such as mobilizing voters. The ClimateWorks Foundation, which funds groups looking for ways to cut down on carbon dioxide, received USD50m. The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, the Solutions Project, and the Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice, specializing in ameliorating the effects of climate change in minority communities, each received USD43m. 

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/jeff-bezos-step-amazon-ceo-chair-board/story?id=75641887&cid=social_twitter_abcn

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charity-donations-richest-lowest-9-years/

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/bezos-earth-fund-gives-nearly-800-million-to-climate-groups-in-first-round-of-grants/