How is Microsoft Partnering to Scale Carbon Dioxide Removal?

The Paris Agreement’s 1.5 C target cannot be met with carbon reduction goals and can only be reached by removing carbon from the atmosphere, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

To help make progress towards this target, Microsoft has launched a carbon dioxide removal programme, supporting projects around the world.

This supports its commitment to become carbon negative by 2030 and to remove its historic emissions by 2050.

Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft’s CSO, said on LinkedIn: “I am thrilled to share that in 2025, Microsoft signed agreements to remove 45 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide – double last year’s volume.

“To put this in context, that’s roughly equivalent to taking 9.8 million cars off the road for an entire year.

“Scaling high-quality carbon dioxide removal is key to building confidence in our strategy, but it isn’t just about Microsoft meeting our own sustainability goals. It’s also about helping to build a market that others trust and join.

“By supporting a diverse range of high-quality carbon removal approaches, we’re helping lay the groundwork for a market that can grow far beyond any one company and contribute meaningfully to global progress toward net zero and climate resilience.”

How does Microsoft support carbon removal projects?

After working to reduce its current carbon emissions, carbon removal is the best way to address residual and historic emissions.

This process involves carbon removal credit, which represents the removal of one metric tonne of carbon dioxide.

Due to the small size of the carbon market, Microsoft is working directly with carbon dioxide removal suppliers during the early stages of their project design and development.

Phil Goodman, Director of the Carbon Removal Portfolio at Microsoft, says: “With any form of carbon removal, you need someone out there to buy the credits so that the economic model works.

“By securing that forward demand commitment, suppliers can actually go and raise financing, hire staff and build out their projects.

“We buy only a fraction of a project’s total credits, and we hope other companies can make faster procurement decisions knowing that projects in our portfolio underwent deep due diligence.”

How volcanic rock can remove carbon

One project supported by Microsoft is Lithos Carbon, which works on monitoring, risk mitigation and verification of enhanced rock weathering.

This involves spreading crushed basalt over farmland, where it mixes with rainwater and atmospheric carbon to create atoms that spread into waterways.

Lithos Carbon uses high-density soil sampling, advanced laboratory analytics, AI-powered predictive modelling tools and water runoff samples to monitor the entire process.

Following its initial pilot project, Lithos and Microsoft signed a three-year contract in 2024 to remove more than 11,400 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Mary Yap, CEO of Lithos Carbon, adds: “We spread this volcanic, nutrient-rich dust that restores their soils, reduces soil erosion and replenishes essential nutrients.

“It helps both farmers and the planet at the same time.

“Essentialy, we’re helping nature do something it already does – just much faster.”

All sustainability, net zero and sustainable supply chain leaders should attend:

• Sustainability LIVE: The Net Zero Summit - QEII Centre, London, March 4-5
• Sustainability LIVE: The US Summit - Navy Pier, Chicago, April 21-22

Co-located with Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE, these events brings together CSOs, ESG leaders and senior decision-makers at a moment when sustainability, supply chains and commercial performance are increasingly interconnected.

Tickets can be booked online today for The Net Zero Summit and The US Summit. Group discounts available.

Removing carbon from agriculture

In June 2025, Microsoft signed an agreement with Agoro Carbon Alliance – which works with the agricultural sector to store carbon – to purchase 2.6 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide removals over 12 years.

In the farming industry, excessive fertiliser use can lead to nitrous oxide emissions, while traditional tilling methods accelerate the oxidation of soil organic carbon, releasing it into the atmosphere.

To solve this, Agoro Carbon Alliance aims to encourage a network of farmers and ranchers to move away from traditional agricultural practices in favour of regenerative farming.

This includes no-till soil preparation and the use of cover crops with deep root systems in order to transfer atmospheric carbon into the soil.

Agoro offers financial support to farmers so they can feel more comfortable that adopting new farming and ranching practices will not harm their profits.

“Soil is a natural sink,” says Dylan Lubbe, Commercial Director at Agoro Carbon Alliance.

“Traditional agricultural practices disturb the soil, essentially letting that stored carbon dissipate into the atmosphere.

“It’s very important to have a for-profit or market mechanism approach to a problem.

“If there’s money to be made, then people are incentivised to address something.”