Bezos Earth Fund Cuts Ties With Climate Standards Group, FT Says

(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos’ $10-billion Earth Fund has ended its support for the Science Based Targets initiative, the main verifier of corporate climate targets, the Financial Times reported.

The billionaire’s philanthropic entity has halted backing for the group following complaints by SBTi staff about its influence, the report said. It’s also seen as a move by Bezos to respond to policies favored by President Donald Trump, who last month ordered a withdrawal of the US from the Paris Agreement on climate action.

SBTi and the Bezos Earth Fund did not immediately reply to emails seeking comment sent outside usual office hours. The fund is one of the two main funders of the SBTi along with the IKEA Foundation, according to the organization’s website. 

SBTi has faced criticism, including from its own staff, over a decision last year to loosen rules for how companies can use carbon credits to reduce their reported supply-chain emissions. Some employees had raised questions about whether London meetings hosted by the Bezos fund in the weeks before could have influenced the decision.  

Bloomberg Philanthropies, the philanthropic organization of Michael Bloomberg, founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, is a project-specific funder of SBTi.

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