Thursday 28 May 2020

Amazon to make three German cities greener with €3.75m investment

Amazon has announced a €3.75 million (£3.3m) commitment to support an urban greening programme to reduce climate change risks and increase species biodiversity in three German cities.

The online retail giant will fund the Nature Conservancy’s initiative which prioritises tree planting, revitalisation of urban wetlands and the wider use of pollinator-friendly species, climate-resilient plants and urban grasslands.

Dr. Ulrich Heink, Director of the Department of Nature Conservation, Berlin-Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district, said: "The people of Berlin are experiencing climate change first-hand with urban floods and extreme heat events in the past years."

Ralf Kleber, Vice President and Country Manager for Amazon Germany, added: “As the programme progresses, we will measure the impacts to ensure that the actions result in tangible benefits to urban residents, such as more greened spaces, greater counts of wild bees and other pollinators, more cubic litres of stormwater safely managed and lower average surface temperatures.”

The urban greening programme is the first project outside the US for Amazon’s $100 million (£81m) 'Right Now Climate' fund, which is part of the company's commitment to 'The Climate Pledge', a collaborative initiative for companies that commit to reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement ten years early, to be net zero carbon by 2040.