Amazon unveils plans for carbon neutrality

The e-commerce giant wants to go faster and further than the Paris Agreement, and aims for carbon neutrality by 2040. Other projects: the purchase of 100,000 electric delivery vehicles with start-up in 2021, and investments in reforestation.

What Amazon announced today is revolutionary and could be game-changing. This will certainly have knock-on effects as Amazon is very closely linked to the whole economy.  The person speaking is Sue Reid, vice-president of the NGO Ceres, more specifically in charge of climate and energy issues. What is “revolutionary” is what Jeff Bezos announced a few days a week about the climate that is opening in New York.

Amazon’s new initiative is called “The Climate Pledge“, or climate engagement. It is a project that aims for carbon neutrality by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement. For this, Jeff Bezos, PD.G. Amazon has announced several measures, including the purchase of 100,000 electric delivery vehicles, which are expected to hit the road between 2021 and 2024.

Ecological restoration and local networks

Amazon will also invest $ 100 million to restore forests and wetlands , and is targeting 100% renewable energy by 2030, up from 40% currently. Jeff Bezos said most of the measures should still save money. This includes services such as same-day or next-day delivery, which requires developing the local network, thereby eliminating highly polluting air transport.

Jeff Bezos also said that the company will review its contributions to the political campaigns of climate skeptics and try to convince the leaders of other companies to adopt this initiative. Greenpeace USA welcomed the initiative, but said that Amazon lacks transparency on its green projects compared to other companies like Google, Apple or Facebook.