Microsoft cut carbon removal credit purchases sharply in the first half of 2026 as AI spending rose.

It bought 8.55 million metric tons through mid-July, about 80% less than a year earlier.

Even so, BloombergNEF ranked Microsoft as the voluntary carbon removal market’s largest buyer, accounting for almost half of transactions.

The pullback came after reports in April that Microsoft had paused some carbon removal deals for financial reasons.

Microsoft’s latest sustainability report also showed its emissions rose 25% in 2025 as AI-driven electricity demand and the slow rollout of cleaner solutions increased its footprint.

Carbon removal credits remove CO2 from the atmosphere and store it, unlike most offsets, which avoid or reduce emissions.

Microsoft said the purchases remain part of its decarbonization strategy, alongside goals to become carbon negative and remove its historical emissions by 2050.

BloombergNEF said global carbon removal credit sales fell 66% year on year to 18 million metric tons through mid-July.

Frontier, a coalition that includes Stripe and Alphabet, said its June pledge brought total commitments to $1.8 billion for long-term purchases of permanent carbon removal.

🔗 Source: Bloomberg

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