NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon founder Jeff Bezos says he plans to spend $10 billion of his own fortune to help fight climate change.
Bezos, the world’s richest man, said in an Instagram post Monday that he'll start giving grants out this summer to scientists, activists and nonprofits.
“This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world,” wrote Bezos in the post. “We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals.”
Bezos says he will call his new initiative the Bezos Earth Fund.
“Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet,” wrote Bezos. “I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.”
An Amazon spokesman confirmed that Bezos will be using his own money for the fund.
Bezos, who founded Amazon 25 years ago, has a stake in the company that is worth more than $100 billion.
Amazon, which has an enormous carbon footprint, said last year that the company would work to have 100 percent of its energy use come from solar panels and other renewable energy by 2030.
“Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let’s protect it, together,” wrote Bezos.
