Amazon admits it doesn't know how it will hit its 2040 net-zero goal

Amazon's chief sustainability officer, Kara Hurst, said on Tuesday that the company does not yet know exactly how it will reach its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. Speaking at an Axios event, she said Amazon is still working toward the target but cannot claim to know every step needed to get there.

Amazon is one of the largest companies in the world, with revenue rising 12% last year to $717 billion — roughly the size of Ireland's economy. At that scale, its emissions touch nearly every sector of the economy, from aviation and artificial intelligence to agriculture and construction, meaning the company needs cooperation from suppliers across industries to meet its goal.

Progress alongside contradictions

Hurst noted that Amazon has been one of the world's largest buyers of clean energy for several years running, with 42 gigawatts in its portfolio. She also said the company has lowered its carbon intensity — emissions per dollar of revenue — though that figure actually rose last year compared with 2024, even as it remained below 2022 levels.

At the same time, an investigation published earlier this year revealed Amazon's plans to build a 7.65-gigawatt natural gas power plant to supply an AI data center campus. The project's 35 turbines could emit up to 33 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, making it potentially the largest single source of such pollution in the United States.

Who bears responsibility

Hurst argued that tackling climate change at the necessary scale requires both companies and governments working together, not one instead of the other. Amazon maintains that its commitment to The Climate Pledge's net-zero-by-2040 goal has not changed. Still, its decision to pursue a major gas plant to meet AI-driven power demand illustrates a broader pattern in which companies prioritize revenue growth over climate commitments.