In response to Amazon renaming Seattle’s KeyArena to Climate Pledge Arena, Greenpeace USA Senior Corporate Campaigner Elizabeth Jardim said:
“Amazon’s renaming of Seattle’s KeyArena is the latest example of the company’s efforts to greenwash its climate pledges [1] [2]. If Amazon really cared about our planet, it would sever its contracts that help fossil fuel companies produce more oil, instead of executing this meaningless and costly PR stunt.
“Jeff Bezos is out of touch with the seriousness of the climate crisis and Amazon is on thin ice with those concerned about the climate and environmental racism. Amazon employees and Greenpeace have for years been calling on Amazon to take responsibility for its growing impacts on the planet. Amazon employees recently filed a shareowner resolution for Amazon to directly address how pollution from its operations is disproportionately impacting Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities. This arena does nothing for the communities most impacted by Amazon’s gross environmental injustices.
“Rather than spending millions of dollars on this sports arena, Amazon needs to end its machine learning contracts with oil and gas companies and more quickly and transparently reduce its growing carbon emissions— up 15% in the last year. Amazon could do more for the public good by guaranteeing safer working conditions for its millions of workers, and discontinuing its harmful relationships with police departments and ICE.
“Without meaningful commitments, Amazon’s renaming of the ClimatePledge Arena, like the Climate Pledge itself, risks being yet another empty gesture. The climate crisis will not be solved with greenwashed initiatives and carbon neutral arenas. The science is clear. We need to keep fossil fuels in the ground, scale up renewables, and elect politicians who support strong climate policies to have a livable planet. We hope that Amazon acts boldly and takes immediate steps to stop accelerating the climate crisis by ending its contracts with the oil and gas industry.”
Greenpeace report: Oil in the Cloud: How Tech Companies are Helping Big Oil Profit from Climate Destruction https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/reports/oil-in-the-cloud/
[1] Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund Not Credible Without More Transparency https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/amazons-climate-pledge-fund-not-credible-without-more-transparency/
[2] Amazon’s Corporate Climate Pledge: Too Slow and Not Enough https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/amazons-corporate-climate-pledge-too-slow-and-not-enough/
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Contact: Valentina Stackl, [email protected], (734) 276 6260
