What is Amazon’s Climate Pledge?

The Oak View Group, NHL Seattle, and Amazon announced on Thursday that the former KeyArena will be called the Climate Pledge Arena. Amazon bought the naming rights and went with “Climate Pledge Arena,” presumably to bring attention to its Climate Pledge.

So what is the Climate Pledge?

The Climate Pledge is a commitment to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early. It calls on those businesses that sign on to be at net zero carbon by 2040.

Amazon and Global Optimism announced the founding of the Climate Pledge on September 19, 2019, less than two months before the United States formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement. However, the withdrawal takes 12 months to take effect, which would be Nov. 4, 2020.

According to the website, companies that sign the Climate Pledge agree to regular reporting. That means they will “agree to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis.” They agree to eliminate carbon, meaning “they will implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business change and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies.” Businesses also agree to credible offsets. That means they must “take actions to neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially-beneficial offsets to achieve net zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.”

Amazon specifically has pledged to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025 and purchase 100,000 electric delivery vehicles. Amazon says it is also investing $100 million in reforestation projects and climate mitigation solutions. It’s investing another $2 billion to support technologies and services that reduce carbon emissions.  Learn more about Amazon’s initiatives here.

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