CEO Jeff Bezos says the company plans to be carbon neutral by 2040 and plans to meet goals of the Paris climate agreement 10 years early

Amazon.com Inc. plans to buy 100,000 electric delivery vehicles as it seeks to reduce its carbon emissions in the face of criticism of its environmental impact.

The order was part of a broader company pledge made by Chief Executive Jeff Bezos while speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. He said the company plans to be carbon-neutral by 2040 and plans to meet the goals of the Paris climate agreement 10 years earlier than the 2050 target.

The e-commerce giant is ordering the electric vehicles from the suburban Detroit-based startup Rivian Automotive. Amazon said the vehicles will start delivering packages to customers in 2021. The company plans to have 10,000 of the new electric vehicles on the road as early as 2022, and all 100,000 by 2030.

Amazon led a $700 million financing round in the electric-vehicle startup earlier this year. Rivian recently landed a $350 million investment from Cox Automotive, bringing its valuation to about $3.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal previously reported.

Amazon has built up its delivery fleet in recent years and has become a force in the shipping industry, although it still works with companies such as United Parcel Service Inc. FedEx Corp. recently ended its two major shipping contracts with Amazon.....