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Microsoft Strikes 12-Year Deal to Buy 2.85 Million U.S. Soil Carbon Credits From Indigo

The credits are tied to regenerative practices verified against emerging quality benchmarks.

Overview

  • Indigo said the agreement covers 2.85 million carbon removal credits generated on American farms over 12 years in what Reuters described as a record soil carbon deal.
  • A person with knowledge of the deal told Reuters the price likely falls between $60 and $80 per ton, valuing the purchase at roughly $171 million to $228 million.
  • Indigo says the credits use Climate Action Reserve’s Soil Enrichment Protocol and are among the first aligned with the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles, with added measures for durability and long-term monitoring.
  • Farmers are slated to receive 75% of the average weighted credit price from each issuance, and Indigo reports $40 million paid to participants across about eight million acres to date.
  • The purchase follows smaller Microsoft–Indigo transactions in 2024 and 2025 and supports Microsoft’s 2030 carbon-negative goal, even as critics question soil-credit measurement and permanence and the company’s emissions rise with AI-driven data center growth.