Amazon makes largest order of electric vehicles as part of 2040 zero carbon pledge

The Driven

CEO and founder of Amazon Jeff Bezos says the company is making the single largest order of electric vehicles to date as part of a “Climate Pledge” initiative to make the online retail giant carbon neutral by 2040.

In a video of the announcement that was posted by the e-commerce company on its Twitter news channel, Bezos says that he wants Amazon to undertake a number of measures that would see the company reach the Paris agreement target of zero net carbon by the second half of the century a full ten years early.

(The Paris target of 2.0°C suggests zero carbon is reached after 2050, but the “stretch” target of 1.5°C requires zero carbon by the early 2040s, analysts say).

Amongst the initiatives that the company will undertake to achieve its target is electrifying its massive delivery network with 100,000 electric delivery vans.

“I’m incredibly excited to announce we have just placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery vans,” Bezos said in the statement.

The electric delivery vans will be made by Michigan-based Rivian, the EV startup that wowed crowds at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show and is now backed by Amazon, US auto major Ford and global auto remarketer Cox Automotive to the tune of $A2.2 billion.

To read the full story on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…