If Amazon doesn’t know how to eliminate carbon emissions, then who does?

On Tuesday, Amazon's chief sustainability officer Kara Hurst revealed that the company remains uncertain about how to attain its objective of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Hurst acknowledged at an Axios event that Amazon is "still striving towards that target" and emphasized that she does not claim to have all the answers on how to achieve this goal.

This frank admission, while realistic, is somewhat disappointing considering Amazon's immense size - the company generated $717 billion in revenue last year, comparable to Ireland's economy.

Amazon's rise is emblematic of how power has shifted from governments to a select few corporations, as UN Secretary General António Guterres has noted. This shift brings with it responsibility, and the question arises: how much responsibility does Amazon bear? According to Hurst, "Tackling climate change at the scale it demands takes both, and it takes them working together." She added, "Where we can lead, we do."

Amazon has demonstrated that it has not been idle in this regard. Hurst highlighted that the company is "one of the largest purchasers of clean energy in the world" with 42 gigawatts in its portfolio. Furthermore, Amazon has managed to reduce its carbon intensity, or the amount of pollution it generates per dollar of revenue. However, this claim depends on the time frame considered. Last year, carbon intensity increased compared to 2024, even though it remained below the levels of 2022.

Amazon's operations are vast, spanning nearly every sector of the economy, including aviation and AI, agriculture, and construction. Consequently, its carbon emissions are spread across numerous areas. The company recognizes that it cannot achieve its goal alone, stating, "This is not something we can do alone." Hurst reiterated that Amazon holds itself accountable to The Climate Pledge goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, a commitment that has not changed.

Despite these commitments, Amazon's actions have sometimes contradicted its leadership on the issue. Recently, an investigation revealed the company's plans to construct a 7.65 gigawatt natural gas power plant to support an AI data center campus. This facility could release up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, making it the largest single source of pollution from a single source in the U.S. For the most part, companies prioritize revenue growth over climate commitments.

For a company like Amazon, which operates the largest cloud service in the world, AI represents a revenue driver that is difficult to forego.

The climate tech world has anticipated that as clean power becomes cheaper, the market would help lower carbon emissions. While there have been some success stories, the AI rush has shown that this approach has its limitations. Even Amazon, a leader in this space, made significant investments in natural gas, effectively shifting responsibility for climate change to future generations of executives.