In brief: Amazon is deepening its commitment to clean energy, according to a newly-published company blog post. In the post, the retail giant unveiled its plan to invest $2 billion in the Climate Pledge Fund, a pool of money that will help select companies achieve their clean energy goals.
More specifically, the fund's coffers will give "visionary companies" the cash they need to "facilitate the transition" to what Amazon calls a low-carbon economy. Though Amazon avoided naming any specific corporations that will participate in that transition, it did say the fund will primarily focus on industries like transportation and logistics, energy generation, storage, and manufacturing.
It's not clear what companies will be receiving this funding – if any, so far – nor do we have a timeline for when Amazon will disburse the cash, but corporate leaders can send the retailer "indications of interest" via email right now.
Amazon also used its latest blog post to reiterate its commitment to the Climate Pledge, which lays out several climate-related targets that participating companies aim to hit by various deadlines.
For example, as part of the pledge, involved companies (including Amazon) will power their operations through 100 percent renewable energy by 2025 (5 years sooner than previously planned), and they will strive to reach "net zero carbon" by 2040.
The former goal is particularly ambitious (for a company the size of Amazon, anyway), so it will be interesting to see whether or not it proves realistic over the coming years.