Big tech is buying carbon credits.

What’s happening:

  • Microsoft has announced a deal with Carbon Streaming (CBOE: NETZ) to purchase 10,000 carbon credits per year
  • Amazon has entered into an agreement with 1Point5 to purchase 250,000 carbon removal credits
  • Alphabet, Stripe, Meta and Shopify have also joined forces to purchase nearly $1 billion of carbon offsets through the Frontier Fund

Why it matters:

  • Seeing carbon credit purchases from some of the largest tech companies in the world is further evidence that carbon credits will play a big role in getting to net zero emissions
  • The pace of carbon credit deals is accelerating, with more large companies beginning to solidify long term agreements that make a meaningful difference in their overall emissions

Going deeper:

  • 1Point5 is a Direct Air Capture company with operations based in Texas and is owned by Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY)
  • This is the first ever purchase from Amazon of carbon removal credit from a Direct Air Capture facility
  • Carbon Streaming will generate their carbon credits from a biochar project in Virgina, which involves producing biochar and burying it in soils to store carbon for centuries
  • Microsoft has been one of the most notable carbon credits buyers in the world, including a recent deal with Heirloom that will see them purchase $200M of carbon removal over a decade