Microsoft Pauses New Carbon Removal Purchases Amid Portfolio Review

Microsoft has signaled to carbon credit suppliers that it is pausing new carbon removal purchases, according to media reports citing people familiar with the matter, a move that carries significant implications for the carbon removal market. Microsoft has represented approximately 90% of the global carbon dioxide removal market by purchase volume, according to data platform CDR.fyi.

Microsoft contracted 45 million metric tonnes of CO2 removal in 2025, doubling its 2024 volume and increasing nine times compared with 2023, making it by far the largest buyer in the nascent CDR market. In comparison, the Frontier Buyers coalition, the second-largest purchaser, has contracted approximately 1.8 million tonnes to date. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company continually reviews its carbon removal portfolio and market conditions for the optimal balance on its path to becoming carbon negative. The company has 21 suppliers from 2025 and several large-scale agreements already announced in 2026, including a 15-year deal for over 600,000 tonnes announced recently.

Microsoft's carbon removal commitments support its climate goals to become carbon negative by 2030, removing more carbon than it emits, and to remove the equivalent of all historical emissions by 2050. Even with new purchases reportedly paused, existing multi-year agreements are expected to channel billions of dollars to carbon removal projects over the coming years. The company has been instrumental in developing the CDR market by engaging with project developers in early stages, conducting due diligence ahead of registry listing, and participating in innovative financing structures to help scale new removal technologies.

Industry participants reacting to the news acknowledged Microsoft's foundational role in building the carbon removal market while emphasizing that the pause represents a market maturation challenge rather than terminal decline. CO280 CEO Jonathan Rhone noted that Microsoft set quality standards that improved every supplier in the market and called the development a call to action for diversifying the buyer base. For carbon removal project developers globally, including those developing afforestation, biochar, and soil carbon projects in India and other emerging markets, the need to build a broader corporate buyer base beyond Microsoft is now a strategic priority.

Key figure — Approximately 90% of the global carbon dioxide removal market by purchase volume attributed to Microsoft