Bezos climate fund discloses first grants totalling $791 million

The first 16 groups receiving donations from the Bezos Earth Fund include nonprofit stalwarts such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the World Wildlife Fund.

FILE PHOTO: Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos laughs as he talks to the media while touring the new Amazon Spheres during the grand opening at Amazon's Seattle headquarters in Seattle, Washington, U.S., January 29, 2018. REUTERS/Lindsey Wasson/File Photo (REUTERS)

Jeff Bezos has announced the first grant recipients from $10 billion pledged to combat climate change, earmarking $791 million for donations to environmental organizations.

The first 16 groups receiving donations from the Amazon.com Inc. founder's Bezos Earth Fund include nonprofit stalwarts such as the Environmental Defense Fund and the World Wildlife Fund. The announcement came Monday in an Instagram post, where Bezos also revealed the fund's existence in February. At the time, he said it would begin issuing grants in the summer.

Contributions, detailed in press releases by some recipients, include $10 million for the Rocky Mountain Institute's work reducing greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and $100 million each to the EDF, WWF and World Resources Institute.

Bezos, the world's richest person, had been criticized for a paltry philanthropic record before ramping up his contributions in recent years. His company, meanwhile, faced a revolt from employees who said Amazon had been slow to address its impact on climate change. The world's largest online retailer has since announced plans to eliminate and offset its contribution to greenhouse gases warming the planet.

The grant recipients:

• Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund ($43 million)
• ClimateWorks Foundation ($50 million)
• Dream Corps Green For All ($10 million)
• Eden Reforestation Projects ($5 million)
• Energy Foundation ($30 million)
• Environmental Defense Fund ($100 million)
• The Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice ($43 million)
• Natural Resources Defense Council ($100 million)
• The Nature Conservancy ($100 million)
• NDN Collective ($12 million)
• Rocky Mountain Institute ($10 million)
• Salk Institute for Biological Studies ($30 million)
• The Solutions Project ($43 million)
• Union of Concerned Scientists ($15 million)
• World Resources Institute ($100 million)
• World Wildlife Fund ($100 million)