Big Tech’s Climate Fight…on Pause?

Big Tech’s Climate Fight…on Pause?

From What Next | Daily News and Analysis by Slate Podcasts

May 3, 2026 · 23 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Microsoft's recent decision to pause its commitment to carbon removal amidst its significant market share in the sector.

In the early 2020s, Microsoft committed to buying 75 million tons of carbon removal—somewhere between 70 and 90 percent of the entire carbon removal market. But the company just announced it was putting that ambition on pause..  Guest: Robinson Meyer, founding executive editor of Heatmap News . Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Guest: Robinson Meyer

Topics covered

  • Big Tech
  • climate change
  • carbon removal
  • Microsoft
  • environmental policy

Keywords

  • Microsoft
  • carbon removal
  • climate fight
  • Robinson Meyer
  • environment

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Microsoft, Heatmap News

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