Microsoft is leading the carbon credit gold rush, signing big deals to accelerate techniques that remove carbon from the atmosphere. This week it agreed to purchase credits from Boston-based agriculture tech company Indigo Ag for 2.9 million tons of removed carbon. Through the deal, Indigo Ag will work with thousands of farmers in the US to improve regenerative practices and boost the carbon storage capacity of their soils.
The announcement comes a day after Microsoft agreed to buy two million removal credits from Rubicon Carbon via projects that support reforestation and farmer livelihoods in Uganda. Last month, it signed a 3.6 million-credit deal with Houston-based C2X, which captures and stores carbon generated through biofuels production, an approach known as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, or BECCS. Microsoft has pledged to become net-zero by 2030; its commitments have been a key driver of carbon removal innovation.
Carbon pricing
Indigo Ag’s soil carbon credits currently sell at $60 to $80 per ton, putting the Microsoft deal in the range of $170 million to $230 million at today’s rates.
Carbon removal credits fetch higher prices on the voluntary carbon markets than carbon avoidance credits, which attempt to account for carbon that was not emitted into the atmosphere in the first place. Avoidance credits often trade for as low as $1 to $10 per ton. Long-duration carbon removal strategies, like enhanced rock weathering, can fetch hundreds of dollars per ton. The technique involves adding minerals to the soil to boost carbon storage capacity.
