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Amazon creates $2B venture capital fund for climate technology

Amazon said Tuesday it will create a $2 billion venture capital fund that will invest in companies working on carbon lowering technology. Photo by Friedemann Vogel/EPA-EFE
Amazon said Tuesday it will create a $2 billion venture capital fund that will invest in companies working on carbon lowering technology. Photo by Friedemann Vogel/EPA-EFE

June 23 (UPI) -- Amazon said Tuesday it is establishing a $2 billion venture capital fund meant to invest in companies building technologies that will address the need to reduce carbon emissions.

The Climate Pledge Fund will target companies addressing carbon emissions with new technologies, Amazon said. Last week, Verizon, Reckitt Benckiser and Infosys will join The Climate Pledge with Amazon to be net-zero by 2040.

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This dedicated venture investment program -- with an initial $2 billion in funding -- will invest in visionary companies whose product and service solutions will facilitate the transition to a low carbon economy," Amazon said in a statement.

Amazon said it plans to lead by example, saying it intends to be run on 100 percent renewable energy by 2025, some five years ahead of schedule.

"To date, Amazon has 91 renewable energy projects, including 31 utility-scale wind and solar projects and 60 solar rooftops on fulfillment centers and sort centers around the globe," Amazon said.

"Together, these projects totaling over 2,900 [megawatts] of capacity will deliver more than 7.6 million [megawatt hours] of renewable energy annually, enough to power 680,000 U.S. homes, and we plan to continue investing, including in the deployment of 100,000 electric vehicles from Rivian, some of which will start hitting the road in 2021," Amazon said.

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