Amazon commits to 100% renewable energy, 100,000 electric vans to fight climate change

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said Thursday that the company has committed to meet the terms of the Paris climate agreement 10 years ahead of schedule, including by purchasing 100,000 electric vans and moving to 100% renewable energy. Amazon, which committed to be carbon neutral by 2040, has been facing pressure from its employees and activists to reduce its emissions in an effort to combat climate change. A day before a global climate strike is expected to call attention to the world's environmental plight, Bezos said the company would use its considerable leverage to slash carbon emissions. Bezos told reporters that Amazon would "implement de-carbonization strategies in line with the Paris agreement," alter its "actual business activities to eliminate carbon" and acquire "credible" carbon offsets with "nature-based solutions." Former United Nations climate chief Christiana Figueres, who appeared alongside Bezos in an endorsement of the company's plan, said Amazon would also pressure its business partners to meet the goals. "We want to use our scale and our scope to lead the way," Bezos said. "We have to do it."