Protocol's Climate Newsletter · September 27, 2022
Microsoft sets its policy goals
Big Tech sure loves its big climate goals, but they’re pretty useless in a vacuum without policies that support a faster transition to decarbonizing the economy. While some companies have come out backing specific legislation and set broad policy principles, few have laid out a plan as detailed as the ones Microsoft dropped recently.
The company published two briefs — one on carbon and one on electricity — that include specific types of policies it will support in the U.S. and around the world. The briefs will offer a measuring stick to determine if Microsoft is living up to its ideals.
Microsoft already has one of tech’s most aggressive climate plans. The company wants to go carbon negative by 2030. Yet its carbon emissions rose last year by 21.5%, owing to the uptick in data center construction and customers using its products — and the fact that the grid is largely fossil-fueled. The policies it says it will advocate for could help turn the tide, though.
The company would like to see a cleaner grid. Which, hey, join the club. But with vast lobbying resources and a considerably bigger public profile than some guy who runs a newsletter, Microsoft could make a greater difference.
- The company noted that while it’s doing its own work to procure more renewable energy, “we also see an urgent need to update policies to enable access to clean energy for all electricity users.”
- It said it would back policies that expand access to clean energy markets and cut costs for end users.
- In addition, it would back policies to modernize grid infrastructure and speed up permitting. (A company spokesperson said in an email that it was still “reviewing” the permitting reform bill currently under consideration in Congress.)
Carbon removal is also front and center. Big Tech’s favorite climate solution gets a whole section in the carbon policy brief. Citing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Microsoft laid out the need to pull 10 billion tons of carbon from the sky per year.
- Going carbon negative hinges on carbon dioxide removal.
- But those services remain expensive, costing hundreds of dollars per ton, and companies offering them are only capable of removing thousands of tons per year. For reference, Microsoft’s Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions added up to nearly 14 million tons in 2021.
- Policies could cut the cost of carbon removal and spur more innovation. The company specifically name-dropped the 45Q tax credit in the U.S. that was recently bolstered by the Inflation Reduction and Chips Acts.
- It also said it will back policies that set standards and support removal services that store carbon for at least 100 years. Which is good because we need said carbon to not go anywhere.
There are a few carveouts that could limit Microsoft’s effectiveness. The company will advocate for sound climate policies, yes. But there are a few ways it may end up working against itself.
- Microsoft said in an email it’s “unlikely we’ll agree with any official on every issue” in response to a question about if it would continue to donate to political candidates who may stand in the way of those policies.
- And it said it welcomes the “opportunity to engage with numerous organizations that are addressing this and many other issues simultaneously.” Among them are the Business Roundtable, which has a complicated relationship with climate policy.
But while other tech companies have stated climate policy stances, Microsoft’s are now among the most detailed. “It is great to see clearly articulated support for a wider range of climate policies, and a much clearer sense of urgency,” Bill Weihl, the founder and director of ClimateVoice, told Protocol. “I hope many other companies will follow their lead and speak up loudly in favor of a broad suite of policies in every city, state, and country where they operate.”