Microsoft Corp. has significantly scaled back its acquisitions of carbon removal credits this year, cutting purchases by approximately 80% as the technology giant redirects capital toward expanding its artificial intelligence infrastructure.
According to BloombergNEF calculations, Microsoft purchased 8.55 million metric tons of carbon removal credits through mid-July, down sharply from the volume acquired during the same period in 2025. The reduction represents the company’s first potential annual pullback from the carbon removal market since 2023, following its initial market entry in 2020. Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) traded marginally higher by 0.5% on Thursday afternoon following the report.
The retreat from carbon credit markets coincides with rising operational emissions. Microsoft’s latest sustainability report revealed a 25% increase in total emissions for 2025, driven by the substantial electricity requirements of AI data centres and delays in the deployment of regional clean power generation.
The conflict between rapid AI expansion and corporate net-zero commitments reflects broader challenges across the hyper-scaler technology sector. Following earlier reports in April that Microsoft had paused selected carbon removal transactions due to cost considerations, a company spokesperson clarified to Bloomberg that credit purchases remain one element of a broader decarbonisation framework, stating that portfolio adjustments reflect operational discipline rather than reduced ambition.
Despite the scaled-back volume, Microsoft remains the dominant buyer in the voluntary carbon removal market, accounting for nearly half of all global transactions so far in 2026. Given the company’s outsized influence, the purchasing reduction has impacted the broader sector, with total global carbon removal credit sales falling 66% year-on-year to 18 million metric tons through mid-July.
