Jeff Bezos says he’s a climate freak – why is he kissing the ring?

Jeff Bezos is arguably the world’s biggest climate philanthropist, which is what makes his quick embrace of Donald Trump as the next US president especially frightening.

“I wish @realDonaldTrump every success in leading and uniting the America we all love.” Bezos published on Xhours after Trump declared victory.

The Amazon founder and chairman launched his Bezos Earth Fund in 2020, committing $10 billion to fund climate action. Foundation website describes it’s like “the largest philanthropic commitment ever to fight climate change and protect nature.”

“The earth is the one thing we all have in common—let’s protect it together,” Bezos wrote on Instagram when he announced the creation of the fund. He stepped down as Amazon CEO in 2021 to focus on the fund. Washington Postand his others “passions”. (Bezos reportedly killed Washington Post’planned endorsement of Kamala Harris.)

Meanwhile, President-elect Trump says rising sea levels, which are making storms and floods more dangerous due to climate change, simply mean “you will have more oceanfront real estate” On the campaign trail, he disparaged solutions like renewable energy, spreading misinformation such as the myth that offshore wind farms are killing whales along the U.S. coastline. He has consistently downplayed the risks of climate change, even as the U.S. disasters such as Hurricane Helen which have been exacerbated by greenhouse gas emissions.

During his first term as president, Trump canceled more than 100 environmental standardsposted fossil fuel lobbyists responsible Environmental Protection Agency, and briefly Withdrew the US from the international Paris Agreement stop climate change.

While the US has missed an opportunity to combat climate change at the federal level, local leaders and even the private sector has tried to fill the gaps. Over the last couple of years of Trump’s first term, a wave of big tech companies have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, ostensibly in line with what is needed to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement.

One of the first companies to do this was Amazon, which in 2019 set a goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Fast forward to 2023, and the company still produces 34 percent more carbon emissions than when it first pledged to combat climate change—though its emissions have started to decline slightly, according to Amazon’s latest sustainability report.

Since its inception, the Bezos Earth Fund has provided $2 billion in grants for a wide range of projects – from protecting forests to monitoring methane pollution on the planet using satellite. Of course, the fund has faced some criticism over the years about Amazon’s environmental pollution and how efficient and fair some of the programs it supports were. However, over time, the fund began direct more money to grassroots groups work to ensure that more diverse voices are heard when finding solutions. (The Bezos Earth Foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Edge.)

Under another Trump presidency, climate action and locally led philanthropy are once again becoming even more important. Back in office, Trump is expected to unveil a series of new policies that will slow the transition to cleaner energy needed to prevent climate disasters from becoming much worse.

It is noteworthy that he said he would refuse unspent Inflation Relief Act of 2022 funds that were reserved $369 billion for energy efficiency initiatives, domestic electric vehicle manufacturing and clean energy technologies. The Inflation Reduction Act alone is projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 40 percent from 2005 levels by the end of the decade, bringing the US closer to achieving the goals that President Joe Biden set for himself by reaffirming the US commitment to the Paris climate agreement.

On the other hand, another Trump presidency would likely increase US greenhouse gas emissions by 4 billion tons compared to Biden’s plans, according to Carbon Brief. analysis published before Harris became the Democratic nominee. Trump also said that he withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement again.

Bezos, of course, isn’t the only tech mogul to kiss the ring following Trump’s election victory this week. Elon Musk was one of Trump’s most influential propagandists. Apple Tim CookMeta Mark ZuckerbergGoogle Sundar Pichaiand Microsoft Satya Nadella everyone congratulated, and these are just a few. After all, the president-elect has responded well to flattery in the past, suggesting that Musk run his own “efficient” task force. And Trump often threatens his critics with retribution.

This whole bromance may actually just be a strategic play by Bezos and other billionaires to protect their profits. But this list represents a lot of money and power that can either help preserve climate goals or bow to a president who told Musk said in August that “the biggest threat is nuclear warming… For me, the biggest problem is not climate change.”