Amazon Climate Goals

Amazon’s climate strategy is one of the most ambitious among global corporations, blending large-scale decarbonization with bold investments in carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and Direct Air Capture (DAC). While the company’s size and footprint pose enormous challenges, its actions demonstrate a growing commitment to funding scalable climate technology—not just offsets.

A Net-Zero Commitment That Goes Beyond Offsetting

In 2019, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge, committing to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement target. This pledge reflects Amazon’s recognition that deep decarbonization across its operations and value chain must go hand-in-hand with permanent carbon removal.

To achieve this goal, Amazon’s climate strategy centers on:

1. Reducing operational and supply chain emissions through efficiency, renewable energy, and electrification.
2. Developing carbon removal pathways—including nature-based solutions and DAC—to address residual emissions that cannot be fully eliminated.
3. Investing in climate technology innovation to help scale solutions beyond its own footprint.

Amazon emphasizes that carbon removal is not a substitute for reducing emissions—it’s a complementary pillar necessary for achieving true net-zero.

Amazon’s Direct Air Capture Partnerships

Amazon made its first major DAC investment in 2023, when it announced a landmark agreement to purchase 250,000 metric tons of carbon removal credits from 1PointFive’s STRATOS DAC facility over 10 years. This plant, one of the world’s largest, uses advanced chemical processes to capture CO₂ directly from ambient air, storing it permanently underground.

This move signals Amazon’s intent to help scale early-stage carbon removal industries. In parallel, Amazon also:

• Invested in CarbonCapture Inc., a startup developing modular, upgradable DAC units that can be deployed in distributed locations.
• Collaborates with the Frontier coalition, alongside other major corporations like Stripe, Alphabet, and Shopify, to accelerate market demand for durable carbon removal.
• Supports research into high-integrity carbon removal standards, ensuring the permanence, traceability, and additionality of DAC projects.

By funding DAC at commercial scale, Amazon is contributing to market validation—a critical step for attracting more investment and driving down costs for future projects.

Renewable Energy and Operational Decarbonization

Amazon is the world’s largest corporate buyer of renewable energy, with over 500 renewable energy projects across 27 countries. Its target: to power all operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of its original 2030 goal.

Additional measures include:

• Electrifying its logistics fleet, including the deployment of 100,000 custom Rivian electric delivery vehicles by 2030.
• Optimizing packaging and materials, cutting millions of tons of waste through its Frustration-Free Packaging initiative.
• Retrofitting data centers for energy efficiency, using AI to reduce cooling energy consumption.

These changes significantly lower Amazon’s operational emissions, reducing reliance on offsets and removal to meet long-term targets.

Nature-Based Carbon Removal

While DAC offers a permanent, technology-driven solution, Amazon continues to invest in nature-based carbon sinks through programs like:

• The LEAF Coalition, a public-private partnership to halt deforestation.
• The Right Now Climate Fund, a $100 million fund supporting reforestation and forest conservation projects worldwide.
• Community-based carbon projects, designed to support biodiversity and local economies alongside carbon sequestration.

Together, these initiatives form a portfolio approach to CDR—combining biological and engineered methods to achieve durable results.

Ensuring Quality and Transparency

Amazon has established strict internal standards for carbon credits and removals, focusing on:

• Full lifecycle carbon accounting.
• Permanent and measurable storage of captured CO₂.
• Projects powered by carbon-free or renewable energy.
• Independent third-party verification.

This emphasis on integrity addresses one of the most common criticisms of corporate carbon strategies—greenwashing—and positions Amazon as a leader in responsible climate investment.

Challenges Ahead

Despite progress, the scale of Amazon’s climate challenge remains immense. The company’s carbon footprint exceeded 70 million metric tons of CO₂e in 2022, even after reductions. DAC and CDR can help close that gap, but current projects represent only a fraction of what’s needed.

DAC technology still faces barriers: high energy demand, limited deployment, and costs exceeding $500 per ton for many facilities. Amazon’s early involvement helps drive the learning curve, accelerating cost declines and expanding industry capacity.

The Bigger Picture

Amazon’s investment in DAC isn’t just about offsetting—it’s about shaping the future of the carbon removal industry. By committing long-term funding, supporting innovation, and setting transparent standards, Amazon is sending a market signal that CDR is essential for corporate climate action.

As the technology scales, the impact will extend beyond Amazon: creating jobs, enabling decarbonized industries, and proving that large corporations can help commercialize climate solutions once considered speculative.

Conclusion

Amazon’s climate journey illustrates how major corporations can combine emissions reductions with forward-thinking investments in carbon removal. Through initiatives like its partnership with 1PointFive, its support of CarbonCapture Inc., and its leadership in renewable energy, Amazon is helping define what corporate climate responsibility looks like in the 21st century.

DAC may not yet solve the climate crisis—but with backers like Amazon, its path to global scalability looks far more achievable.