Nature-Based Solutions
Amazon uses nature-based solutions to mitigate carbon emissions outside of our value chain and supplement the carbon-reduction efforts we’re driving across our operations. Nature-based solutions are conservation, restoration, and improved land management activities that increase carbon storage in areas such as forests, wetlands, peatlands, and grasslands. They have the additional benefit of helping to preserve the natural world by conserving wildlife habitats, protecting biodiversity, improving water quality, and reducing flood risk.
Our Work in Nature-Based Solutions
We follow scientific research to fund initiatives that are critical to hitting the targets of the Paris Agreement and staving off the most catastrophic effects of climate change.
We also focus on large-scale transformations that would be unlikely to occur without significant new investment.
Our nature-based carbon removal actions center on developing systems, tools, scientific knowledge, and scalable business models for reforestation and regenerative agroforestry. Over time, we will look to expand our focus to include other forms of nature-based carbon removal, such as restoring mangrove forests and marine ecosystems.
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In 2021, Amazon partnered with The Nature Conservancy to launch the Agroforestry and Restoration Accelerator. The Accelerator will restore native rainforest to naturally trap and store carbon and mitigate climate change. It will also create a more sustainable source of income for thousands of local farmers in the Brazilian Amazonian state of Pará. The Accelerator is experimenting with innovative ways to support farmers and nurture markets for sustainable commodities. It will also advance new approaches and satellite-based technologies to quantify and monitor carbon removal.
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In 2021, Amazon helped to create the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF) Coalition, a global initiative of governments and leading companies that has already mobilized $1 billion to protect the world’s tropical rainforests. The public-private project is designed to accelerate climate action by providing financing to help countries protect their tropical rainforests. In November 2021, the coalition signed Letters of Intent with five tropical forest countries: Ecuador, Costa Rica, Ghana, Vietnam, and Nepal. The LEAF Coalition is expected to become one of the largest initiatives ever to protect tropical forests and support sustainable development, and will benefit billions of people around the world who depend on the rainforests.
Supporting Family Forests in the United States
In 2020, Amazon committed $10 million to support two programs in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy.
The programs help family forest owners sequester carbon across the Appalachian region of the Eastern U.S., which has been identified as disproportionately important for conserving biodiversity and mitigating climate change. Amazon’s grant supports efforts to expand the programs to new regions, develop a scientific approach to measuring regional carbon impact, and enhance carbon verification methodology for these projects.
Investments in Communities Across Europe
As part of our Right Now Climate Fund, Amazon has committed €20 million toward nature-based projects in communities across Europe. These projects will have robust, science-based environmental benefits for carbon removal and biodiversity, along with social benefits such as job creation and access to nature.
Netherlands
France
United Kingdom
Italy
Germany
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In 2023, Amazon announced a €1.5 million grant to a consortium of partners headed by North Sea Farmers to fund the world’s first commercial-scale seaweed farm located between offshore wind turbines. Seaweed has the potential to help tackle climate change by absorbing CO2 as it grows, and could enhance biodiversity. The project, North Sea Farm 1, will be located in a wind farm off the coast of the Netherlands, and is designed to test and improve methods of seaweed farming while researching the potential of seaweed to sequester carbon.
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In 2022, Amazon committed €3 million of funding over a three year period to the Fonds Nature 2050, created by CDC Biodiversité. The funding will support the preservation, restoration, and management of an estimated 600,000 square meters of land in France (an area larger than 80 football pitches) through the implementation of nature-based projects. The Fonds Nature 2050 is devoted to preserving and restoring biodiversity, while mitigating the consequences of climate change, as well as improving ecosystems and territorial resilience.
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In 2022, Amazon committed £2.8 million toward two UK programs: The Woodland Trust’s Emergency Tree Fund and the London Wildlife Trust and Mayor of London’s ‘Rewild London Fund’. These programs will help plant over 450,000 trees across six UK local authorities, and will support more than 20 critical rewilding projects in the capital. The initiatives aim to create green spaces in local communities most impacted by pollution and with the least access to nature, address wildlife decline, improve biodiversity, and create jobs and volunteering opportunities in regions across the UK.
SPOTLIGHT
In 2021, Amazon committed €2 million to support Parco Italia, an urban forestry program that aims to plant 22 million trees across 14 metropolitan areas in Italy. This translates to one tree planted per city resident. Amazon’s support for this project will help cities become more resilient to climate change by increasing urban biodiversity, improving air quality, and promoting urban cooling.
SPOTLIGHT
In 2020, Amazon committed €3.75 million to The Nature Conservancy’s Urban Greening Program in Germany, which promotes biodiversity, reduces urban heat islands, and improves stormwater management in the face of climate change. With Amazon’s support, the program launched in Berlin’s Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district in 2020. In 2021, the Urban Greening Program developed mapping and analysis for roofs, grasslands, and urban streetscapes for greening potential.
