Billionaire funding of climate activism melting! LA Times: ‘Jeff Bezos’ $10-billion climate pledge is falling dangerously behind’ – Still need to spend more than $7 billion to reach goal – Plus: Meta ‘winding down its climate portfolio’ & Bill Gates has trimmed staff at his climate org

A climate fund founded by Jeff Bezos, in the single largest philanthropic pledge to fight global warming, is lagging far behind its spending goals. Officials at the Bezos Earth Fund said they remain committed to disbursing $10 billion by 2030. With four years left on the timeline, however, only 28% of the promised funds have been allocated.

That leaves more than $7 billion, suggesting the need for a surge in grantmaking under Chief Executive Officer Tom Taylor, who took over leadership last year after running Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa division. Yet spending by the Earth Fund dropped to $183 million in 2025 before ticking up to at least $400 million this year, according to fund officials.

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Slow spending by one of the deepest-pocketed climate philanthropies comes at a challenging moment. Efforts to counteract global warming with public programs and charitable giving have come under scrutiny and attack by the Trump administration, which has dismantled many clean-energy incentives and environmental regulations. The pivot has upended several initiatives supported by the Earth Fund shortly after its founding in 2020.

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There’s been tumult across the relatively small climate philanthropy sector, with some big donors pulling back. The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, run by Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, is winding down its climate portfolio, according to a spokesperson for the organization. Renowned climate investor and donor Bill Gates has trimmed staff at Breakthrough Energy, his climate organization, while pulling back on advocacy work and halting some investments. Breakthrough officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.

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Randall Kempner, executive director of the Climate Philanthropy Catalyst Coalition. “It is certainly a less hospitable environment for climate philanthropy today than it was prior to Trump’s election,” he said.

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