Amazon sidesteps carbon offset standard Bezos helped fund

Amazon bypasses global carbon offset standard, develops new Abacus label to meet emission reduction goals, sparking market concerns.

Amazon has become the first company to sidestep a global standard for verifying carbon offsets that was developed by a non-profit funded largely by the U.S. technology conglomerate’s founder and executive chair, Jeff Bezos.

Amazon is backing the development of a new standard that could allow the online retailer and cloud-computing provider to overcome a dearth of supply for quality-labeled offsets, enabling it to meet its target of cutting its greenhouse-gas emissions to zero on a net basis by 2040. Critics worry that the move could lead to market confusion and a compromise in the standards of carbon offsets.

Companies under pressure to curb their emissions can buy credits from developers of projects that absorb carbon, such as through reforestation. The market for offsets has remained small due to a limited number of projects that can verify their climate benefits.

Amazon told Reuters it has completed work on Abacus, a framework for verifying the quality of carbon offsets. Amazon developed the standard with carbon registry Verra as an alternative to one developed by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), the world’s biggest grouping of private sector and environmental groups dedicated to validating carbon offsets. Verra first announced it was developing the standard with Amazon in 2022.

Bezos, through his $10-billion Earth Fund that he set up to tackle climate change, is one of ICVCM’s biggest donors, pumping in at least $11 million into ICVCM and sister organization Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative since their 2021 launch.

Jamey Mulligan, Amazon’s head of carbon neutralization, said in an interview that the company evaluated and supported ICVCM’s work, but that it wanted a more ambitious standard.

“We want to ensure that every credit investment has a real, conservatively quantified and verified impact on emissions,” Mulligan said. He declined to comment on whether Bezos was involved in Amazon’s decision.