Jeff Bezos has picked a new CEO for his Earth Fund, whose job is to spend $10 billion on climate-change initiatives by 2030

• Jeff Bezos has hired Andrew Steer to head up his $10 billion climate-change fund.
• Steer has been CEO of the World Resources Institute for the past eight years.
• Steer said in a tweet that the goal was to spend the fund's entire $10 billion by 2030.

Jeff Bezos on Tuesday announced that he had picked Andrew Steer to oversee his $10 billion climate-change philanthropy project, the Earth Fund.

"We're excited to announce that Dr. Andrew Steer has agreed to lead the Bezos Earth Fund as President and CEO," Bezos wrote in an Instagram post Tuesday.

Steer has been CEO at the global research organization the World Resources Institute for the past eight years.

"I feel incredibly fortunate to join the Bezos Earth Fund as its CEO, where I will focus on driving systemic change to address the climate and nature crises, with a focus on people," Steer said in a statement on the WRI website. "Too many of the most creative initiatives suffer for a lack of finance, risk management or the right partnerships. This is where the Earth Fund will be helpful."

He added in a tweet: "The Earth Fund will invest in scientists, NGOs, activists, and the private sector to help drive new technologies, investments, policy change and behavior. We will emphasize social justice, as climate change disproportionately hurts poor and marginalized communities."

Steer said Bezos' goal was to spend the fund's entire $10 billion pot by 2030. Bezos first announced the fund in February 2020 but did not give a timeline.

Bezos announced last month that he would be stepping down as CEO of Amazon, where he plans to take up the less time-consuming role of executive chairman. Bezos said part of his reasoning for giving up his job as Amazon CEO was to focus on his philanthropic initiatives, including the Earth Fund as well as The Washington Post (which he owns) and his space-exploration company Blue Origin.