en.Wedoany.com Reported - Microsoft has notified partners and suppliers that it is suspending new carbon removal credit purchases. The decision comes without a specified timeline or detailed explanation, and developers, investors, and policymakers are currently assessing its impact on relevant markets. According to an official Microsoft statement, the company will continue to review its relevant investment portfolio and market conditions, seeking the optimal balance in the process of achieving its carbon-negative goals.

Microsoft is the dominant buyer in this global sector, with historical purchase volumes accounting for 79% to 90% of the global total. To date, the company has locked in over 45 million tonnes of corresponding emission reductions, far exceeding the 1.8 million tonnes secured by the second-largest buyer, Frontier. Its procurement strategy has provided core support for early-stage technologies such as direct air capture, soil carbon sequestration, and biochar, while also promoting the establishment of early industry norms through the publication of project standards.

In early 2026, Microsoft completed four major related transactions, including the world's largest soil carbon sequestration agreement with Indigo Ag, a record-breaking US biochar offtake agreement, and a 626,000-tonne bioenergy with carbon capture and storage agreement in Canada with Svante and the Meadow Lake Tribal Council. A Svante spokesperson confirmed that the existing agreement signed by both parties is not affected by this suspension.

This purchasing suspension is directly linked to the emissions pressure brought about by Microsoft's AI infrastructure expansion. Microsoft has committed to becoming carbon negative by 2030 and removing its historical emissions by 2050. In 2024, the company's data center emissions grew by 23.4%, with a similar growth rate expected in 2025. The cost range for carbon removal technologies is $50 to $500 per tonne. The contradiction between high costs and surging emission demands is forcing the company to adjust its decarbonization pathway.

Changes in the US federal policy environment have further intensified pressure on the industry. Federal support for the sector is weakening, with funding for direct air capture hubs being reduced and some resources shifting towards traditional energy assets. The 45Q tax credit is still supporting related projects, but the overall pace of federal advancement has slowed. Congress has approved $116 million for related research and federal procurement programs, a funding scale far below what is needed for industry deployment.

This technology is capital-intensive and relies on long-term offtake agreements to secure investment returns. The uncertainty in corporate demand, coupled with insufficient policy support, has led developers to worry about future project financing. Data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows that the world needs to remove 7 to 9 billion tonnes of CO2 annually by 2050 to meet established climate goals.

This adjustment will not lead to a complete halt in industry activity, but it will alter the pace of industry development. A market structure dominated by a single buyer carries structural risks, and Microsoft's strategic shift will trigger more cautious investment decisions across the entire industry chain. The long-term development of the industry will depend on the degree of diversification on the demand side and whether governments introduce more stable procurement frameworks. Currently, the global carbon removal industry has entered a phase of readjustment.

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