{"id":3491861,"date":"2026-09-23T21:21:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T21:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/23\/if-amazon-doesnt-understand-how-to-reduce-carbon-emissions-then-who-does\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T21:21:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T21:21:33","slug":"if-amazon-doesnt-understand-how-to-reduce-carbon-emissions-then-who-does","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/23\/if-amazon-doesnt-understand-how-to-reduce-carbon-emissions-then-who-does\/","title":{"rendered":"If Amazon doesn\u2019t understand how to reduce carbon emissions, then who does?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still making efforts to reach that goal,\u201d Kara Hurst mentioned at an Axios event, later remarking that she won\u2019t claim, \u2018We know all the methods we are going to use to accomplish this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Amazon ranks among the largest corporations globally, with revenue growing 12% last year to reach $717 billion \u2014 roughly equivalent to Ireland\u2019s economy. Its expansion exemplifies the shift in power from governments to a handful of corporations, as noted by UN Secretary General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres.<\/p>\n

As power shifts, so does accountability. The pertinent question is, how much responsibility falls on Amazon?<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a matter of companies versus governments,\u201d Hurst stated in a written response to TechCrunch after the event. \u201cAddressing climate change at the scale required necessitates both, and collaboration between them is essential.\u201d She further added, \u201cWe lead where we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Amazon has been proactive. In her discussion yesterday, Hurst highlighted that the company has been \u201cone of the largest buyers of clean energy worldwide for several consecutive years,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cWe cannot do this in isolation,\u201d Hurst emphasized at the Axios event.<\/p>\n

The company recognizes that its pledges are its own. \u201cWe are committed to The Climate Pledge, aiming for net-zero carbon by 2040. That commitment remains unchanged,\u201d Hurst informed TechCrunch.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you make purchases through links in our articles, we may receive a small commission. This does not influence our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/div>\n
\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are still making efforts to reach that goal,\u201d Kara Hurst mentioned at an Axios event, later remarking that she won\u2019t claim, \u2018We know all the methods we are going to use to accomplish this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Amazon ranks among the largest corporations globally, with revenue growing 12% last year to reach $717 billion \u2014 roughly equivalent to Ireland\u2019s economy. Its expansion exemplifies the shift in power from governments to a handful of corporations, as noted by UN Secretary General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres.<\/p>\n

As power shifts, so does accountability. The pertinent question is, how much responsibility falls on Amazon?<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a matter of companies versus governments,\u201d Hurst stated in a written response to TechCrunch after the event. \u201cAddressing climate change at the scale required necessitates both, and collaboration between them is essential.\u201d She further added, \u201cWe lead where we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Amazon has been proactive. In her discussion yesterday, Hurst highlighted that the company has been \u201cone of the largest buyers of clean energy worldwide for several consecutive years,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

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. \u201cWe cannot do this in isolation,\u201d Hurst emphasized at the Axios event.<\/p>\n

The company recognizes that its pledges are its own. \u201cWe are committed to The Climate Pledge, aiming for net-zero carbon by 2040. That commitment remains unchanged,\u201d Hurst informed TechCrunch.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you make purchases through links in our articles, we may receive a small commission. This does not influence our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3491862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3491861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3491861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3491862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3491861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3491861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3491861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}