Microsoft Secures Major Carbon Removal Deal with India's Alt Carbon to Boost Climate Goals
Microsoft has signed a three-year agreement to purchase nearly 37,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide removal credits from Indian startup Alt Carbon. This landmark deal marks the tech giant's first enhanced rock weathering (ERW) agreement in Asia, reaffirming its aggressive commitment to sustainability amid market speculation regarding pauses in its green procurement programs.
🪨 Scaling Enhanced Rock Weathering in Emerging Markets
Under the Darjeeling Revival Project, Bengaluru-based Alt Carbon will deliver 36,920 metric tons of verified carbon credits by 2029. The startup specializes in enhanced rock weathering, a technique that spreads crushed basalt on agricultural land to accelerate natural chemical reactions that safely trap atmospheric carbon dioxide as stable bicarbonates. Backed by a $12 million seed round, Alt Carbon operates its own advanced laboratories to strictly monitor soil and water metrics.
📊 Stricter Verification Amid Supply Scarcity
The partnership followed over a year of rigorous scientific review and due diligence. Microsoft mandated advanced monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) protocols that exceed standard registry benchmarks. This emphasizes a broader market trend where corporate buyers heavily penalize unverified carbon promises, pivoting exclusively toward companies capable of physical, scalable credit delivery. Alt Carbon has already issued nearly 10,000 ERW credits, representing the largest historical issuance of its kind globally.
📈 The Global South's Surging Climate Influence
This transaction highlights India's rapid ascent within the global carbon economy. Carbon credit suppliers from the Global South now command 26% of worldwide issuances, up from a meager 2% in 2022. By transitioning its operations from tea estates into vast rice-growing sectors, Alt Carbon has scaled its network to over 35,000 farmers spanning 80,000 acres, with strategic plans to expand its footprint fivefold over the next five years.
