Jeff Bezos’ £8.06 billion Earth Fund has halted funding for the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), a major international climate body that evaluates whether corporations are reducing emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. The decision to end support comes just as U.S. President Donald Trump formally withdrew from the Paris Agreement, marking a shift in Bezos’ climate strategy.
The Earth Fund had been one of SBTi’s largest backers, providing a £14.5 million grant in 2021. That funding expired in 2024 as scheduled, leaving the organization searching for new financial support from donors and its validation services. The move follows reports suggesting that the Bezos Earth Fund and advisors linked to former U.S. climate envoy John Kerry had advocated for greater corporate reliance on carbon credits—an issue that has sparked debate over its long-term effectiveness.
Despite ending its support for SBTi, Bezos remains involved in climate initiatives. At the New York Times’ DealBook Summit last month, he emphasized the urgency of tackling environmental issues, and his foundation continues to back projects like the Greenhouse Gas Protocol and the World Resources Institute.
Meanwhile, as Bezos repositions his climate efforts, Amazon is expanding its presence in the defense sector. The company recently secured a £670,000 consultancy contract with Britain’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) to assess next-generation space-based communications systems. The project, part of Amazon’s satellite initiative Project Kuiper, was presented to UK Space Command and is seen as a step toward integrating military, government, and private satellite networks.
An industry insider noted that Amazon Kuiper executives have been aggressively pursuing deals within the British defense sector as the UK prepares to launch a new generation of communications satellites. This comes as Britain finalizes bidders for its £5 billion Skynet 6 military satellite program, with aerospace giants Airbus and Lockheed Martin vying for the contract. The government is also considering a £1 billion intelligence satellite network.
Amazon has already secured multiple UK government contracts for its AWS business, further cementing its position in Britain’s digital and defense infrastructure. In a move that will intensify competition with Elon Musk’s Starlink, the UK telecom regulator Ofcom recently granted Amazon a license to provide satellite broadband services in the country.
As Amazon deepens its defense and space investments while scaling back its direct climate funding, Bezos’ evolving priorities are drawing attention. Whether this signals a broader strategic shift remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: his influence continues to grow across both the environmental and military sectors.
