Microsoft's Big Climate Change Fight

Plans to Remove Carbon from Atmosphere with Target Dates

Source:  Microsoft

Commitment from the Top
Microsoft has joined the fight against Climate Change in a big way.  It just announced that by 2030 it will have removed more carbon from the atmosphere than it emits.  And, by 2050, it hopes to have taken out as much CO2 as all the direct emissions the company has made since its founding in 1975.

Very Different, Innovative Approach
The world's largest software company's approach to fighting Climate Change is quite different and innovative.  Most companies promise to cut ongoing emissions or prevent new ones.  By contrast, Microsoft's pledge to remove existing carbon from the atmosphere is unique for
corporate America.

CEO Leadership
The commitment to fighting Climate Change is coming from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.  Speaking today at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington headquarters, he said we, as a global company, have to offset the damaging effects of Climate Change.  He added if global temperatures keep rising, "the results will be devastating".

Specific Components of the Plan
There are several key components to the impressive approach that Microsoft is taking:
  • By 2030, it wants carbon emissions cut in half across its entire supply chain.
  • It's creating a "Climate Innovation Fund" to invest $1 Billion over four years to accelerate development of carbon removal technologies.
  • It's greatly expanding an internal fee it's been charging its internal business groups since 2012 for their carbon emissions including use of electricity, air travel and all other work related carbon emissions.
Carbon Capture Technologies Needed
Microsoft President Brad Smith says that to accomplish their goals by 2030, technologies that don't fully exist now have to be developed.  Microsoft expects to release 16 million metric tons of CO2 in 2020 including for corporate travel.  Their aggressive carbon removal plan and transparency about their own carbon emissions are impressive in the fight against Climate Change.


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