Microsoft has entered into an agreement with UK-based Climate Impact Partners to purchase 1.5 million carbon removal credits over the next three decades. The credits will be sourced from a large-scale afforestation initiative in India, covering 20,000 hectares.
The afforestation project, located in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna region, is backed by Terra Natural Capital, an environmental commodities investment firm. The initiative is projected to generate a total of three million carbon removal credits throughout its duration.
Brian Marrs, Senior Director Energy Markets, Microsoft said: “At Microsoft, we believe that high-quality, nature-based solutions are vital to addressing climate change. Panna forms an important part of our growing portfolio of carbon removal projects – our first in India and largest in the APAC region. The collaboration with Climate Impact Partners helps to ensure that millions more trees are planted, more carbon is removed from the atmosphere, more jobs are created, and more finance flows back to local communities.”
This extensive reforestation effort has already led to the planting of 1.2 million native trees. Once fully implemented, the project aims to establish a total of approximately 11.6 million trees across farmland and community-owned territories, according to Climate Impact Partners.
“We are incredibly proud that Microsoft, a company that continues to demonstrate bold, climate-responsible leadership, is supporting Panna, a project developed by our expert team. By securing a long-term supply of high-quality carbon credits, this model empowers companies like Microsoft to meet their ambitious climate targets, drive growth in the carbon removal market, and bring benefits to communities most impacted by climate change. Panna exemplifies how companies can help scale large-scale carbon removal infrastructure,” added Sheri Hickok, CEO of Climate Impact Partners.
Leveraging Verra’s latest methodology for afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation, the project extends benefits beyond carbon sequestration. Farmers involved will receive a direct share of proceeds from carbon credit sales. Additionally, the initiative will promote sustainable farming techniques, introduce large-scale water conservation infrastructure, and enhance biodiversity by prioritizing indigenous plant species.
Microsoft working on multiple carbon fronts
The project marks the first foray of Microsoft in the country but the company has been busy on multiple forest-related efforts across the world. Recently an agreement with Chestnut Carbon was signed for the delivery of 7 million tons of carbon removal credits over the next 25 years from afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) project set across Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana.
The tech giant is also involved with broader efforts to improve the trust in the voluntary carbon market and joined forces with Amazon and oil company Exxon in February to form a 17-member independent panel that seeks to improve verification processes and ensure that carbon offset projects genuinely contribute to emissions reductions.
The panel, under the Voluntary Carbon Market Task Force of the Bipartisan Policy Center, will explore potential reforms, including the creation of a certification system similar to Energy Star, by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), tentatively called “Carbon Star.”
