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Apple Announces $200 Mn Forestry Fund to Reduce Carbon

The Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, US, October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
The Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, US, October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
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Apple Announces $200 Mn Forestry Fund to Reduce Carbon

The Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, US, October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
The Apple Inc logo is seen hanging at the entrance to the Apple store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan, New York, US, October 16, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

Apple on Thursday announced a $200 million fund to invest in timber-producing commercial forestry projects, with the goal of removing carbon from the atmosphere while also generating profit.

The Restore Fund, launched in partnership with Conservation International and Goldman Sachs, expected to have its first projects targeted later this year.

"Nature provides some of the best tools to remove carbon from the atmosphere," Apple vice president of environment, policy and social initiatives Lisa Jackson said in a statement.

"Through creating a fund that generates both a financial return as well as real, and measurable carbon impacts, we aim to drive broader change in the future -- encouraging investment in carbon removal around the globe."

Forests draw in carbon from the air, storing it away and stopping the gas from contributing to climate change.

The fund aims to remove one million metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from the atmosphere, equal to the amount spewed by more than 200,000 passenger vehicles.

Apple said last year it would become carbon neutral by 2030 for all its operations, including manufacturing.

The California-based iPhone maker said its goal was to have no climate impact for all its devices sold.

"Investing in nature can remove carbon far more effectively -- and much sooner -- than any other current technology," Conservation International chef executive M. Sanjayan said in a joint release.

"As the world faces the global threat climate change presents, we need innovative new approaches that can dramatically reduce emissions."

Also Thursday, Google unveiled a time-lapse feature to its Google Earth service that provides a satellite view of the world.

The new feature is based on tens of millions of satellite images from the past 37 years to enable users to see in rich detail how the face of the planet has changed.

"Timelapse in Google Earth is about zooming out to assess the health and well-being of our only home, and is a tool that can educate and inspire action," the company said in a blog post.

"Visual evidence can cut to the core of the debate in a way that words cannot and communicate complex issues to everyone."

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Technology

Samsung Says Trade Turmoil Raises Chip Business Volatilities, May Hit Phone Demand

A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
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Samsung Says Trade Turmoil Raises Chip Business Volatilities, May Hit Phone Demand

A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
A man walks past the logo of Samsung Electronics displayed outside the company's Seocho building in Seoul on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)

South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics warned on Wednesday US tariffs could cut demand for products such as smartphones, making it difficult to predict future performance.
According to Reuters, Samsung said it expected its semiconductor business to encounter greater uncertainties throughout the year, while its smartphone shipments faced downward pressure in the second quarter.
The cautious outlook from one of the world's biggest electronics manufacturers reflects the uncertainties roiling global trade due to US President Donald Trump's tariff war, and comes a day after General Motors pulled its annual forecast.
The world's largest memory chipmaker reported a small rise in first-quarter operating profit as customers concerned about US tariffs rushed to purchase smartphones and commodity chips, mitigating the impact of its underperforming artificial intelligence chip business.
It reported 6.7 trillion won ($4.68 billion) in operating profit for the quarter ended in March, up 1.2% from a year earlier and in line with its earlier estimate.
Samsung shares, one of the worst-performing major tech stocks last year, fell 0.4% in line with the broader market.
Steep US tariffs on Chinese goods and toughening restrictions on AI chip sales to China, Samsung's top market, threaten to dampen demand for some of the electronics components the company produces such as chips and smartphone displays.
Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs, most of which have been suspended until July, threaten to hit dozens of countries including Vietnam and South Korea where Samsung produces smartphones and displays.
Samsung said it was considering relocating the production of TVs and home appliances in response to the tariffs.
Chip demand is expected to remain solid in the second quarter, driven by AI servers and preemptive purchasing activities after the pause in tariffs, Samsung said.
But it warned that the frontloading of chip shipments by some customers may have a negative impact on demand later this year.
“We believe that demand uncertainties are growing in the second half as a result of recent changes in tariff policies in major countries, and strengthening of AI chip export controls,” Kim Jae-june, a Samsung vice president in the memory division, said on an earnings call.
Samsung CFO Park Soon-cheol said however that "we cautiously expect the overall performance to gradually improve as we move into the second half, assuming the easing of current uncertainties".
Some analysts were unconvinced, saying the company did not give detailed guidance for its struggling AI chip business.
"With pull-in demand still ongoing and macro uncertainty lingering, the explanation for the 'first-half low, second-half rebound' outlook was lacking," Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities said.
AI CHIPS
Samsung's mobile device and network business reported a 23% rise in profit to 4.3 trillion won during the period, reaching its highest level in four years, helped by the latest version of the flagship Galaxy S model with AI features.
Samsung has accelerated smartphone production in Vietnam, India and South Korea ahead of the US duties, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier.
While mobile performed strongly, the chip division's operating profit slumped 42% to 1.1 trillion won from a year earlier despite chip stockpiling by some customers.
Samsung reported a fall in sales of High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) - used in AI processors - due in part to US export controls on AI chips.
Samsung said it had supplied samples of its enhanced HBM3E products to major customers and expected HBM sales, which have bottomed out in the first quarter, to "gradually" rise from the second quarter, without offering detailed targets.
Analysts estimate that about one third of Samsung's HBM revenue has come from China, and it lags behind cross-town rival SK Hynix in supplying such chips to Nvidia in the United States.
SK Hynix last week logged its second-highest quarterly operating profit in the first quarter with a 158% jump to 7.4 trillion won, boosted by strong AI-related demand.
Revenue rose 10% to 79.1 trillion won in the January-to-March period, in line with its earlier estimate of 79 trillion won.