Jack Ma's Ant Pledges To Go Carbon Neutral By 2030

Ant Group, the financial technology affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited BABA, has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030.

What Happened: Ant Group said that to reach the goal within the next nine years, it will set up a carbon neutrality fund to support the research and development of renewable energy and other green technologies. The digital payments company will also work with industry partners to promote green finance.

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In addition, Ant Group will explore ways to apply blockchain solutions to the climate effort, including using the technology to track the carbon reduction process. 

Ant Group said it has laid out a roadmap to neutralize direct and indirect emissions associated with the purchase of electricity from this year. By 2030, the company will fully cancel out carbon emissions generated from other sources it does not own or control, covering areas such as supply chain and business travel.

The company’s pledge to reduce carbon emissions came following the announcement of the resignation of its CEO Simon Hu.

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Why It Matters: In 2016, Ant Group’s Alipay digital payment platform introduced the Ant Forest green initiative within the app to encourage its users to take part in low-carbon activities, such as paying utility bills online and walking instead of driving. Green energy points earned by users joining the initiative can be used to plant trees or protect a certain area of land for biodiversity conservation.

Other major companies have also pledged to become carbon neutral within the next one or two decades, joining the global efforts to curb climate change and its devastating effects.

Apple Inc. AAPL said in July last year that it plans to turn carbon neutral across the entire spectrum of its business, manufacturing supply chain, and product life cycle by 2030.

Microsoft Corporation MSFT previously committed to becoming "carbon negative" by 2030, that is, it would aim to cut more carbon from the environment than it emits.

In 2019, Amazon.com Inc. AMZN co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to be net-zero carbon across its business by 2040, ten years ahead of the Paris Agreement.

Price Action: Alibaba Group shares closed 3.7% lower on Friday at $231.87.

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