While Jeff Bezos spends billions on his “Earth Base,” Amazon is said to be monitoring climate change groups, including Greta Thunberg’s potential threats.


Jeff Bezos
Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon. Katherine Taylor / Reuters
  • The leaked documents obtained by Vice show that Amazon is closely monitoring the threats felt to its European business.

  • These threats include climate change activist groups including Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and Greta Thunberg on Friday for the Future.

  • The report contradicts Amazon’s views on climate change. CEO Jeff Bezos has promised to donate $ 10 billion to groups focused on the issue.

  • “Like most companies, we have a team of analysts to help prepare for external events such as weather, power outages, or large community gatherings such as concerts or demonstrations that can disrupt traffic or affect the safety of our buildings and employees,” he said. Amazon spokesman for Vice.

  • Visit the Business Insider website for more news.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos may pour billions into climate groups, but behind the scenes, the technology giant sees some of them as a threat.

The leaked documents obtained by Vice detail how Amazon’s Global Security Operations Center tracks the organizations and movements it sees as a potential threat to the company’s operations.

Among the internal documents reviewed by Vice reported two reports on the end of 2019 that identified the increasingly popular anti-climate change movements in Europe as a potential threat. The documents named the Extinction Rebellion, Greenpeace and Greta Thunberg Friday for the Future group.

Amazon noted that Future Friday on Friday will increase its influence “especially among young people and students,” and “attract and attract more and more people.”

“Wow @amazon, do school children call for environmental protection, which is such a threat to you?” Friday for the future tweeted in response to the report.

Greta Thunberg
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg at the “Friday for the Future” demonstration in front of the Swedish Parliament, Riksdagen, in Stockholm on October 9, 2020. JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP via Getty Images

Amazon reportedly monitored the social media accounts of these organizations to track their popularity and activity.

A spokesman for Vice, a spokesman for Amazon, said: “Like most companies, we have a team of analysts to help prepare for external events such as weather, power outages, or large community gatherings such as concerts or demonstrations that can disrupt traffic or affect traffic. and the safety of the people who work there. “

Documents obtained by Vice showed how Amazon illustrated the merger effort in detail, and it was revealed that the Pinkerton Agency employs a spy company whose trade-breaking history dates back to the 19th century.

The documents viewed by Vice focused on Amazon’s European operations, but Vice reports that Amazon uses the same tactics globally, according to some documents.

Read more: Investors are serious about investing cash in climate technologies in 2020. Check out the 25 most innovative startups in Europe tackling climate change, selected by venture capitalists.

Vice’s report contradicts Amazon’s views on climate change. Its CEO and the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, announced in February that he would spend $ 10 billion to launch a new initiative called the “Bezos Earth Fund”. Bezos announced an update on Nov. 17, saying he has donated $ 791 million to 16 organizations so far.

Greenpeace, the extinction uprising, and next Friday were not on the list of beneficiaries.

Amazon has put a lot of pressure on both outside groups and its own employees to take action against climate change. In January, a month before Bezos founded his Earth Fund, 350 Amazon employees signed an open letter condemning his climate policy. Greenpeace has also accused the billionaire of hypocrisy for setting up its fund while at the same time maintaining business contracts with the fossil fuel industry.

Amazon announced its climate promise in September 2019 and promised to be a carbon-neutral company by 2040.

Business Insider turned to Amazon for comment.

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