Microsoft signs 30-year carbon removal afforestation deal in India
Microsoft, carbon markets solutions provider Climate Impact Partners, and climate-focused project finance business Terra Natural Capital announced today a new finance and carbon removal purchase agreement, aimed at supporting the development of a large-scale afforestation project in India. As part of the agreement, Microsoft will purchase 1.5 million tonnes of verified carbon removal credits over 30 years, representing 50% of the project’s projected 3 million tonne output.
The new agreement brings together project development expertise from Climate Impact Partners, finance from Terra Natural Capital, and a long-term purchase commitment from Microsoft, supporting the Panna afforestation project in Madhya Pradesh State, India. The project, spanning 20,000 hectares, will see up to 11.6 million mixed native trees planted across farmer and community land.
The agreement marks Microsoft’s first carbon removal purchase in India for Microsoft and forms part of the tech giant’s rapidly expanding carbon credit portfolio, part of the company’s initiative to become carbon-negative by 2030. The portfolio includes several large-scale afforestation and reforestation-based agreements, including a 7 million ton deal announced in January with Chestnut Carbon, in addition to technologies including, ocean-based carbon removal, biochar-based projects, and direct air capture (DAC) agreements.
In addition to the carbon removal, the companies highlighted other key benefits of the project, including economic empowerment through a share of carbon credit sales to farmers and income generation from the sale of fruit and medicinal produce from the trees planted, training programs on climate-smart agricultural techniques to help enhance long-term yields, the implementation of large-scale water infrastructure to capture and conserve water, and improved biodiversity by focusing on native species and attracting butterfly and bird species back to currently degraded lands.
