Big Tech just committed to removing as much carbon as California — but that's not saying much

Four tech giants — Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce — just created a non-profit committed to investing in the removal of 20 million tons worth of carbon by 2030.

That’s equal to the carbon removal goals of the state of California, the companies noted in their announcement of the project, dubbed the Symbiosis Coalition. But it’s just a fraction of the carbon removal that would be required for the world to reach net-zero emissions.

Carbon credits are investments in environmental projects made by companies as a way to theoretically offset their emissions and meet their net-zero goals. An analysis from McKinsey at the end of last year noted that carbon removal, while obviously less effective than reducing emissions directly, “could play a vital role” in reducing so-called “residual” emissions since the move away from fossil fuels won’t be enough to stop all pollution. The report also noted that carbon removal credits would need to capture between six and 10 gigatons of carbon in order for the world to meet the net-zero emissions goals outlined by the Paris Agreement by 2050.

Critics argue that such credits enable businesses to keep polluting without making needed changes to their corporate practices. Plus there’ve been scandals surrounding the actual efficacy of such carbon offsets. Case in point: An investigation from The Guardian in 2023 found that one of the biggest carbon credit issuers used by companies such as Shell and Disney was selling credits that had no benefit to the climate.

Google’s carbon credits lead Randy Spook said in a statement that Symbiosis will address key issues plaguing the carbon market — one being a lack of adequate funding to bring carbon removal projects to scale. The coalition will pool demand from the four large companies and require carbon removal projects it invests in to meet a set of criteria it’s developing, which it has yet to disclose.

“We’ll also share our project criteria publicly, helping other companies to adopt best practices and increase their confidence in high-quality, nature-based carbon removal projects,” Google’s carbon credits lead Randy Spook wrote in the company’s announcement. Spook said Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce expect other companies to join the coalition in the future.