Why Microsoft’s Carbon Removal Pullback Is Such a Big Deal
About this episode
The episode discusses Microsoft's significant role in the carbon removal industry and the implications of its recent pullback on new purchases.
For the past few years, Microsoft has basically carried the carbon removal industry on its shoulders. The software company has purchased 72 million tons of carbon removal, more than 40 times what any other organization has financed, according to third-party sources. Now it’s pulling back. As we reported last week, Microsoft has told suppliers and partners that it’s pausing new purchases. Though the company says that its program “has not ended,” even a temporary pullback will have significant implications for the nascent carbon removal industry. What happens next for these companies? And is a bloodbath on the way? On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob speaks to Jack Andreasen Cavanaugh from Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy about Microsoft’s singular importance and what could come next. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap News. You can find a full transcript of the episode here . Mentioned: Our initial Friday story: Microsoft Is Pausing Carbon Removal Purchases Jack’s take: The Private Sector Built the Market, Time for Us to Scale It Heatmap’s Emily Pontecorvo on Ctrl-S, the startup…
People in this episode
Host: Robinson Meyer
Guest: Jack Andreasen Cavanaugh
Topics covered
- carbon removal
- Microsoft
- environmental policy
- sustainability
- business impact
- energy policy
Sponsors
Lunar Energy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Microsoft, Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, Heatmap News
Books & works: Shift Key
More episodes of Shift Key with Robinson Meyer
- Everything We Didn't Know About the World’s Buzziest Geothermal Startup
- Why the Iran Ceasefire Hasn’t Ended the Energy Crisis
- How Utilities Actually Think
- A New Look at Why Electricity Prices Have Gone Up in Your ZIP Code
- There’s a New Playbook for Cutting Power Prices
- The Oil Industry Will Never Be the Same
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Shift Key with Robinson Meyer podcast page.