'Strong Pressure' For Companies Like Amazon To Combat Climate Change, Says Heather Goldstone

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos walks off stage after holding a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington to announce the Climate Pledge, setting a goal to meet the Paris Agreement 10 years early. On Monday, Feb. 17, 2020, Bezos said that he plans to spend $10 billion of his own fortune to help fight climate change.

Hannah Uebele is a producer for Under the Radar with Callie Crossley and previously worked as associate producer for Boston Public Radio. She graduated from Tufts University with a B.S. in English and Environmental Studies. She's a proud Delawarean but has found herself saying "wicked" more and more often, so the Bostonian metamorphosis is well underway.Contact: hannah_uebele@wgbh.org

March 05, 2020

Updated August 07, 2023

Heather Goldstone, chief communications officer at the Woods Hole Research Center, spoke with Boston Public Radio on Thursday about Jeff Bezos' new $10 billion Earth Fund. Bezos is the CEO of Amazon, a company that emitted 44.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2018. He pledged that the fund will help combat climate change.

"There's been some mixed thought about this, it's really unclear what this fund actually will be," Goldstone said. "I think it's this pressure to demonstrate 'What are you doing?' in this space and if in fact we're looking at a $10 billion investment in solutions oriented research and deployment, that can only be a good thing."

Hundreds of Amazon workers have criticized the company for it's work with oil and gas companies.

"That's another caveat with [Bezos' pledge] — is this genuine or an attempt to quiet that internal discontent?" Goldstone said. "This is a sign that there is strong pressure in the right direction."