Microsoft Will Use Carbon-Absorbing Rocks to Meet Climate Goals
Most of the world’s efforts to remove carbon from the atmosphere use giant, vacuum-like devices that suck in air and isolate the carbon. Microsoft is funding a new approach that uses crushed-up limestone to achieve the same result. The tech company said Thursday it agreed to buy credits from startup Heirloom Carbon for the removal of up to 315,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide over 10 years.
That would amount to a purchase commitment of at least $200 million based on market prices and would offset the equivalent of the annual emissions of around 70,000 gasoline-powered cars. The deal will help Microsoft neutralize its carbon emissions and is one of the largest ever purchases of carbon-removal credits. It also shows how carbon removal is quickly becoming a major industry even as the technologies are still developing.
Business leaders such as Microsoft and JPMorgan Chase and governments are funding a range of approaches, including burying carbon-rich plant material and tweaks to the ocean’s chemistry that increase carbon absorption. Heirloom was selected a few weeks ago as a potential recipient of hundreds of millions of dollars from the U.S. government as part of a 2021 infrastructure law program to kick-start the industry.
Some of Microsoft’s purchase agreement is tied to Heirloom’s work in a government-funded hub in Louisiana, illustrating how the federal funding is accelerating the sector’s development. It is the first new credit-purchase tied to the government projects. “All of these different components are really what you need to see this industry take shape," said Shashank Samala, Heirloom’s chief executive.
Read more on livemint.com
