Microsoft Inks Record Carbon Removal Deals as Emissions Rise

Five years ago, Microsoft Corp. set a goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030 and removing all its historic emissions from the atmosphere by 2050. But the company’s artificial intelligence investments have made meeting those targets harder—by a lot. Today, Microsoft’s total planet-warming impact is 23% higher than it was in 2020 in part because of its vast expansion of emissions-intensive data centers, according to its 2025 sustainability report.

Despite its actions, Microsoft says slashing carbon remains a priority. Bloomberg Businessweek spoke with Brian Marrs, the company’s senior director of energy and carbon removal, about how the tech giant plans to meet its climate commitments. Like many things involving AI or climate goals, the answer isn’t entirely clear. “It is important to recognize we’re at the very beginning of generative AI and what it will look like,” Marrs says. “Servers and data centers will evolve and do more with less.” The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.