Just in case Greta Thunberg hadn’t whipped up enough of a frenzy among those who are convinced the world will end in 12 years if central banks don’t print several quadrillion dollars now and immediately fix the weather, while commercial banks are already salivating at the outsized profits generated by crowding their virtue signalling clients into all sorts of ESG portfolios (such as the ESGG ETF whose top holdings are bizarrely Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Intel), moments ago the world’s richest man slammed shut any further debate whether climate change (and ESG) is the next social mania, when he announced (on the wokest of places, i.e., Instagram), that he is committing $10 billion to fight climate change.

This is what Bezos said:

Today, I’m thrilled to announce I am launching the Bezos Earth Fund.⁣⁣⁣ Climate change is the biggest threat to our planet. I want to work alongside others both to amplify known ways and to explore new ways of fighting the devastating impact of climate change on this planet we all share. This global initiative will fund scientists, activists, NGOs — any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world. We can save Earth. It’s going to take collective action from big companies, small companies, nation states, global organizations, and individuals. ⁣⁣⁣ I’m committing $10 billion to start and will begin issuing grants this summer. Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let’s protect it, together.⁣⁣⁣ – Jeff

What was left unsaid is that Bezos is moving forward with the implicit understanding that central banks will match his $10 billion check at a rate of roughly 100 to 1, and commit trillions more just so investors are forced to buy ESG ETFS… where Amazon stock (its army of internal combustion engine delivery trucks notwithstanding) always finds itself among the Top 5 holdings, and any further push by the establishment to force more “virtuous ” ESG buying will promptly recover Bezos’ paltry $10BN investment, as AMZN’s market cap promptly doubles to $2 trillion.

Or as Jeff, or frankly everyone else would say, you have to spend $10 billion to be the first to hit $1 trillion. Incidentally, for all those who are only catching up on the latest social dogma that is climate change and ESG, here are a bunch of primers to get up to speed on all the religious fabulations you will need to make “informed” investment decisions for the next 5-10 years. AQR Investing: ESG Strategies

Goldman: Investing in Climate Change

BofA: ESG from A to Z: a global primer

BofA: Emission Impossible? Global Climate Change Primer

McKinsey: Five ways that ESG creates value

iShares: sustainable ETFs

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