Microsoft announced plans to purchase 18 million tons of high-quality carbon removal credits.

The tech company entered into a framework agreement with Rubicon Carbon, a carbon credit management firm.

Each carbon removal transaction under this deal will be structured as 15- to 20-year offtakes, supporting a pipeline of individual Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) projects worldwide.

Rubicon will source, assess and conduct advanced due diligence on ARR projects worldwide, prioritizing those with strong potential for scale but limited access to capital. Rubicon Carbon’s in-house science team will provide continuous quality assurance and monitoring, leveraging the latest remote-sensing technologies.

“This agreement demonstrates how science, finance, and business model innovation can work in concert to scale affordable and high-quality climate solutions,” said Brian Marrs, senior director, energy and carbon removal at Microsoft, in a statement. “We believe that project finance needs to be central to the voluntary carbon market, and this deal signals the long-term demand for carbon removal necessary to mobilize infrastructure-grade investment and world-class execution.”

By anchoring long-term offtake agreements, this deal demonstrates the growing role of corporate buyers in unlocking private investment for high-integrity carbon projects that might otherwise lack funding.