Microsoft and nature-based solutions company Living Carbon announced today a large-scale carbon removal deal, with Microsoft agreeing to purchase 1.4 million tonnes of carbon removal credits from Living Carbon’s reforestation projects on degraded mine lands in the U.S.
Founded in 2019, California-based Living Carbon transforms marginal land into high-value environmental assets, with a focus on restoring abandoned mines, degraded farmland, and unproductive soils with site-tailored reforestation. In addition to removing carbon and generating income through carbon credits, the company’s reforestation activities provide benefits including improved soil and water health, and enhanced biodiversity, as well as economic development opportunities for rural communities. The company’s investors include Temasek, Toyota Ventures, Felicis, and Lowercarbon Capital, Living Carbon.
The carbon credits for the new agreement will be generated from Living Carbon’s reforestation of 25,000 acres of degraded lands in the broader Appalachian region. According to the company, land at abandoned mines often suffer from issues including poor soil quality, erosion, toxic metal content, and invasive species, while Living Carbon’s approach, including extensive site preparation and the careful selection of well-suited, native species, improves the quality of the soil and viability of the landscape.
Maddie Hall, CEO and Co-founder of Living Carbon, said:
“Restoring degraded mine lands offers one of the most scalable and meaningful opportunities for nature-based climate action in the United States. We’re proud to be working with Microsoft to advance high-quality reforestation and unlock the potential of some of the most challenging yet important lands in the U.S.—not only for carbon removal, but also for restoring ecosystems and supporting the return of these lands to productivity.”
The announcement marks the latest in a series of large-scale carbon removal agreements by Microsoft, forming part of the tech giant’s initiative to become carbon negative by 2030. Microsoft’s carbon removal portfolio includes several large-scale afforestation and reforestation-based agreements, including a 7 million ton agreement with Chestnut Carbon and a 3.5 million ton deal with re.green announced earlier this year. The company also announced bioenergy carbon capture and storage (BECCS) carbon removal agreements totalling more than 10 million metric tons this month.
Brian Marrs, Senior Director for Energy & Carbon Removal at Microsoft, said:
“We are pleased to support this project as part of Microsoft’s broader portfolio of high-quality carbon removal solutions. Uniquely targeted nature-based projects like this address systemic challenges while also generating positive climate and ecological outcomes.”
