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Jeff Bezos’ $10 billion Earth Fund has pledged to spend millions more in funding to groups fighting off climate change. This time, a lot of the cash is going to groups that advocate for communities of colour and low-income neighbour hoods, which often face the first and worst effects of climate change and fossil fuel pollution.
The fund announced a total of $203.7 million in new grants. Of that, more than $53 million will go toward communications on climate change and efforts to cut emissions from businesses. Another $20 million will go to groups focused on climate justice — a movement to stop climate change from taking a disproportionate toll on already marginalized communities.
The Earth Fund plans to work with the Biden administration to disburse the biggest chunk of funding, $130 million, by the end of the year. That’ll go to organizations supporting a Biden administration initiative called Justice40 that the White House announced in January. It’s a plan to ensure that disadvantaged communities receive 40 percent of the “overall benefits” from federal investment in new infrastructure and climate solutions
The announcement comes after Bezos faced flak from activists for not earmarking enough funding for communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. The fund allocated $791 million to environmental organizations in its first round of giving last year. A majority of that went to big green groups, including the World Wildlife Fund and Environmental Defence Fund, with deeper pockets than scrappier climate justice-focused organizations.
While activists say this announcement makes good progress on climate justice, it still falls short of the level they’d like to see when it comes to investments in the most vulnerable communities.
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