The head of sustainability at Amazon stated on Tuesday that the company is uncertain about how it will meet its net-zero carbon emissions target by 2040.

“We are still making efforts to reach that goal,” Kara Hurst mentioned at an Axios event, later remarking that she won’t claim, ‘We know all the methods we are going to use to accomplish this.’”

This acknowledgment was both candid and pragmatic. It is also somewhat disheartening. If Amazon lacks a strategy for decarbonization, then who among them does?

Amazon ranks among the largest corporations globally, with revenue growing 12% last year to reach $717 billion — roughly equivalent to Ireland’s economy. Its expansion exemplifies the shift in power from governments to a handful of corporations, as noted by UN Secretary General António Guterres.

As power shifts, so does accountability. The pertinent question is, how much responsibility falls on Amazon?

“This is not a matter of companies versus governments,” Hurst stated in a written response to TechCrunch after the event. “Addressing climate change at the scale required necessitates both, and collaboration between them is essential.” She further added, “We lead where we can.”

Indeed, Amazon has been proactive. In her discussion yesterday, Hurst highlighted that the company has been “one of the largest buyers of clean energy worldwide for several consecutive years,” boasting a portfolio of 42 gigawatts. She also mentioned that Amazon has lowered its carbon intensity, defining the amount of pollution created per dollar of revenue, although this assertion is contingent on the timeframe. Carbon intensity increased last year compared to 2024, even while remaining lower than levels seen in 2022.

As a vast enterprise, Amazon’s carbon emissions span nearly every economic sector, from aviation and AI to agriculture and construction. To fulfill its ambition, the company requires suppliers from all these sectors. “We cannot do this in isolation,” Hurst emphasized at the Axios event.

The company recognizes that its pledges are its own. “We are committed to The Climate Pledge, aiming for net-zero carbon by 2040. That commitment remains unchanged,” Hurst informed TechCrunch.

However, Amazon has made decisions that compromise its authority on this matter. Earlier this year, an investigation uncovered plans for the company to construct a 7.65 gigawatt natural gas power plant to supply an AI data center campus. The project’s 35 turbines could emit up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide yearly, establishing it as the largest single source of such pollution in the U.S.

With rare exceptions, companies tend to give precedence to revenue growth over climate commitments. For a business like Amazon, which runs the largest cloud service globally, AI serves as a significant revenue generator that is hard to ignore.

The climate technology sector has been optimistic that as clean energy becomes more affordable, market forces would lower carbon emissions. While there have been a few success stories, the rush toward AI has illustrated the limitations of this approach. Even Amazon, a prominent player in this arena, has made substantial investments in natural gas, effectively suggesting that climate change is an issue for future executives to address. Does that sound familiar?