Analysis-Big Tech-led demand for carbon removal credits fuels supply crunch

BELEM, Brazil (Reuters) -Surging demand for high-quality carbon removal credits from tech giants to offset their AI-driven emissions is helping fuel a shortage that experts say is exactly what is needed to spur investment in the nascent market. Heavy buying over the last two ​years by companies including Microsoft and Google made the credits nearly four times more expensive in 2024 than lower-priced credits pegged to forest-preservation projects. Big Tech has collectively spent ‌hundreds of millions of dollars since 2019, much of it in the last two years, on durable carbon removals, those that capture and store carbon dioxide for an extended period, the credit experts say.