Amazon pledges $2 bln venture fund for clean energy

Amazon pledges $2 bln venture fund for clean energy

Amazon.com said on Tuesday it will launch a $2 billion venture capital fund that will focus on technology investments to reduce the impact of climate change and support sustainable development.

Fred Katayama reports.

Under pressure to take action on climate change, Amazon.com made a big commitment Tuesday.

The e-commerce giant said it'll launch a $2 billion venture capital fund to develop technologies and services so it can meet its pledge to become carbon neutral by 2040.

Amazon's so-called Climate Pledge Fund will invest in companies across a wide swath of industries that include transportation and logistics, energy, storage, manufacturing and food and agriculture.

The announcement comes four months after CEO Jeff Bezos committed $10 billion of his own money to protect the environment and fight climate change.

Slashing emissions will be challenging for Amazon.

The company relies on its huge transportation network and data centers to deliver 10 billion items a year.

Amazon has faced protests by environmental activists and pressure from even its own employees to take action on climate change.

The company also said Tuesday it's now on course to have its facilities run on 100% renewable energy by 2025.

That would put it five years ahead of its original schedule.

Amazon shares rose in early trading Tuesday.