Microsoft Signs its First Ocean-Based Carbon Removal Agreement

Ocean health company Running Tide announced an agreement with tech giant Microsoft for ocean-based carbon dioxide removal, using technology that accelerates the ocean’s ability to naturally remove CO2, and to permanently sink it to the deep ocean.

Under the new agreement, Running Tide will remove 12,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (C02e) on behalf of Microsoft.

Carbon removal is emerging as a key tool in the fight to address climate change, although most technologies and solutions to capture and store carbon from the atmosphere remain at fairly early stages. According to the landmark IPCC climate change mitigation study released last year, scenarios that limit warming to 1.5°C include carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods scaling to billions of tons of removal annually over the coming decades.

Launched in 2017, Running Tide designs and implements interventions that rebalance the carbon cycle, decarbonize global supply chains, restore marine ecosystems, and revitalize coastal communities.