Jeff Bezos has announced the first of his donations to fight climate change, with grants given to scientists and activists who are working to protect our planet for future generations.

Taking to Instagram, the Amazon CEO – who is currently the wealthiest man in the world – announced the very first recipients of the Bezos Earth Fund, a $10 billion initiative announced earlier this year.

This first round of funding will go to 16 organisations in total, all of which are working towards ‘innovative, ambitious, and needle-moving solutions’.

Bezos wrote:

I’ve spent the past several months learning from a group of incredibly smart people who’ve made it their life’s work to fight climate change and its impact on communities around the world. I’m inspired by what they’re doing, and excited to help them scale.

He continued:

This $791 million in donations is just the beginning of my $10 billion commitment to fund scientists, activists, NGOs, and others. We can all protect Earth’s future by taking bold action now.

The grantees listed include: The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund; ClimateWorks Foundation; Dream Corps Green For All; Eden Reforestation Projects; Energy Foundation; Environmental Defense Fund; The Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice; and Natural Resources Defense Council.

Other organisations set to receive funding are as follows: The Nature Conservancy; NDN Collective; Rocky Mountain Institute; Salk Institute for Biological Studies; The Solutions Project; Union of Concerned Scientists; World Resources Institute; and the World Wildlife Fund.

Bezos first announced the Bezos Earth Fund back in February of this year, sharing the following message via Instagram, alongside an image of Planet Earth:

Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share.

This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs – any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world. We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals. ⁣⁣⁣

Many of the organisations have come forward to thank Bezos for his generosity, with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) revealing it had been awarded $100 million to ‘harness the power of nature to stabilize the climate crisis’.

Funding will help the WWF to protect and restore mangroves, develop new markets for seaweed and protect forests and other ecosystems.

Meanwhile, the ClimateWorks Foundation has received a $50 million grant that will help support zero-emission trucks, zero-emission shipping and climate-friendly cement and steel production.

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