One of the major e-commerce players, Amazon will make an initial investment of US$ 3 million in nature-based projects in India. The allocation is part of the company’s US$ 15 million fund it has allocated for nature-based projects in Asia Pacific (APAC).
One of the company’s statements disclosed that for the first project, Amazon will be working with the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) to support communities and conservation efforts in the Western Ghats, which is home to more than 30% of all of India’s wildlife species, including the world’s largest population of wild Asiatic elephants and tigers. It’ll launch the "Wild Carbon" program, which will support 10,000 farmers in planting and caring for one million fruit-bearing, wood, and medicinal trees, Amazon will provide US$ 1 million to CWS.
The Asia-Pacific region is home to vast forests and rich coastal environments, but it is also highly vulnerable to climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation.
According to Ms. Kara Hurst, Amazon’s Global Vice President (VP) for Sustainability, in order to protect the region from the impacts of climate change and preserve biodiversity, the company needs both large-scale and local action investments.
The US$ 15 million allotment comes from Amazon's Right Now Climate Fund, a US$ 100 million fund established in 2019 to promote environmental restoration and conservation initiatives that boost biodiversity and climate resilience while generating social and environmental benefits in the areas where they operate.
The support of Amazon helps to plan and build a program that is self-sustaining in the long term. The farmers will receive upfront support to select tree types that serve both their livelihoods and the wildlife, whilst also receiving technical assistance, agroforestry training, and support for replanting failed saplings, says Ms. Krithi Karanth, Executive Director, Centre for Wildlife Studies.
In 2019, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge, committing to reach net-zero carbon by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
The Pledge now has more than 400 signatories across 55 industries and 38 countries including nine Indian companies: BluPine Energy, CSM Technologies India, Godi, Greenko, HCL, Infosys, Mahindra Logistics, Tech Mahindra, and UPL.
Amazon announced the commencement of six utility-scale projects in India in 2022, and the corporation asserts that it is on track to power all its activities worldwide with renewable energy by 2025, five years earlier than the initial target year of 2030.
The projects comprise 920 megawatts of renewable energy capacity and include three wind-solar hybrid projects in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, as well as three solar farms in Rajasthan. Additionally, Amazon India has promised to add 10,000 electric vehicles to its fleet of delivery vans by the year 2025.
Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.