Leading the charge on climate change

In 2019, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge so signatories across the world could work together to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

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Scientists talk about tipping points in relation to climate change. Extreme temperatures are becoming the norm. Antarctic ice sheets are melting faster, and the ocean is warming quicker than predicted. The effects of climate change are startling, unsettling—and highly motivating. The actions we take between 2020 and 2030 are vital to avoiding further tipping points, and this is the decade that will determine whether we can meet the goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions globally.

The landmark Paris Agreement set out a unanimous response to keep a global temperature rise below 1.5ºC. To have a strong chance of staying below 1.5ºC, global carbon emissions must reach net-zero carbon needs by 2050—and the earlier we get there, the greater the chances become. Climate science also tells us that to meet the goal for net-zero by 2050, we need to halve global emissions between 2020 and 2030.

Time to change

Now climate action is every company’s business.

The Climate Pledge was founded on the conviction that global businesses are responsible, accountable and able to act on the climate crisis—and that by doing so, they will transform societies and our views of what’s possible.

It’s up to Earth’s top companies to do everything in their power to protect the global economy from the disruptive risks associated with climate change.

"This is not going to be easy—but this is absolutely critical and important."

Christiana Figueres

UNFCCC and Co-Founder of Global Optimism

The three commitments

Signatories of The Climate Pledge agree to:

01 Regular reporting

Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis

02 Carbon elimination

Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies.

03 Credible offsets

Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.

Strength in numbers

Together is the only way forward.

We know what needs to be done. But one thing is clear: if global companies don’t join forces, The Climate Pledge won’t work. Our goals must be aligned and shared rather than siloed.

“Meeting these goals is really only something that can be done in collaboration with other large companies, because we’re all part of each other’s supply chains,” says Jeff Bezos. “So, we have to work together, and we want to use our scale and our scope to lead the way. We know it’s going to be challenging. But we know we can do it—and that we have to."

The Climate Pledge includes hundreds of signatories who are collaborating to avert economic and climate disaster—and build our collective future. The journey to net-zero carbon by 2040 may be ambitious, but it will result in things we all respect and value: cleaner air, good jobs in green industries, healthier people, and abundant nature.