One company bought nearly every carbon removal credit sold on Earth last year.

According to new research from BloombergNEF and the Business Council for Sustainable Energy — the first time these organizations have specifically tracked CDR demand — Microsoft purchased 93% of all carbon removal credits globally in 2025.

That number should make you sit up.

Why Microsoft Is All-In

Microsoft pledged in 2020 to remove all carbon emissions the company has produced since Bill Gates founded it in 1975. That’s a serious commitment, and to back it up, the company has struck long-term offtake agreements with CDR startups including Climeworks and Heirloom, which take different approaches to direct air capture.

In 2025, Microsoft updated its criteria for what counts as high-quality CDR. Credits must be “additional” — meaning the removal wouldn’t have happened without the purchase — and ideally store carbon for more than 1,000 years.

These are the right standards. The question is whether anyone else is willing to pay for them.

The Price Gap

The economics of CDR remain brutal. Nature-based carbon credits average $7 to $20 per ton, though many have been plagued by greenwashing scandals. Technology-based CDR — direct air capture, enhanced weathering, biochar with permanent storage — can exceed $500 per ton. The highest-quality credits cost even more.

Microsoft is paying those prices because it takes its climate commitments seriously and understands that these technologies need early buyers to scale. But a market where one buyer accounts for 93% of demand isn’t a market — it’s a patronage system.

What Needs to Change

The carbon removal industry needs government procurement at scale. The Biden administration had begun funding CDR through the bipartisan infrastructure law’s Direct Air Capture Hubs program, but most projects appeared on DOE cancellation lists under the Trump administration. Congress did preserve the 45Q tax credit for carbon management, which helps — but tax credits alone won’t create the demand signal that CDR companies need to attract private investment and scale operations.

Countries like the UK, Switzerland, and the EU member states have started exploring CDR procurement mechanisms, but none are yet operating at a level that meaningfully diversifies the buyer base.

Microsoft deserves credit — literally — for keeping this industry alive. But it shouldn’t have to do it alone. Governments that claim net-zero targets need to start buying what net-zero actually requires.

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