Microsoft and climate finance company Catona Climate announced today that they have signed a new 6-year purchase agreement, with Microsoft purchasing 350,000 tonnes of carbon removal credits generated through agroforestry projects in Kenya, and marking the latest in a series of large-scale nature projects. carbon removal agreements based on the technology giant.
Carbon removal credits for the new agreement come from Catona Climate's Lake Victoria Catchment Agroforestry Project, located in Homa Bay, Kenya. The project aims to support 15,000 local smallholder farmers by partnering with them on sustainable agroforestry practices to develop forest gardens consisting of multi-level mixes of trees, shrubs and crops on their land, transforming monoculture lands into forest-based carbon sinks. nature with above- and below-ground biomass and improved soils.
In addition to carbon removal, the project aims to deliver economic and environmental benefits, including improved yields without the use of fertilizers or pesticides, preventing deforestation and biodiversity loss, and reducing the impact of drought and soil runoff by increasing flows of income and food security, while improving the land's capacity for sustainable growth and increasing biodiversity.
Rob Lee, Carbon Director at Catona Climate, said:
“This collaboration demonstrates what is possible when like-minded stakeholders come together to align project quality and impact. There is no path to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement that does not involve carbon removals. Our job is to source, vet, design, finance, monitor and measure the projects that will enable companies like Microsoft to achieve their climate goals, so we can all look forward to a sustainable future.”
The project is funded, designed and managed by Catona in collaboration with Trees for the Future, a non-profit organization focused on training farmers in agroforestry and sustainable land use to improve livelihoods and revitalize degraded land.
Tim McLellan, CEO of Trees for the Future, said:
“Catona has been instrumental in helping us fund, design and implement this innovative community-led project, and I'm excited to have a climate leader like Microsoft involved as well. Microsoft’s support for nature-based solutions and this project align perfectly with our vision to revitalize degraded lands and improve the lives of farming communities around the world through sustainable agroforestry practices.”
The agreement marks the latest in a series of carbon removal agreements for Microsoft and an extension of the company's growing portfolio of carbon removal investments, forming part of Microsoft's initiative to become carbon negative by 2030. Many of the Microsoft's largest carbon removal deals are focused on nature-based solutions, including recent announcement deals with Chestnut Carbon and Brazilian reforestation-focused startup Mombak, as well as deals covering a wide range of technologies and approaches, including carbon capture. direct air flow (DAC), ocean-based carbon removal and biochar. projects.
Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy and Carbon Removal at Microsoft, said:
“With organizations like Catona, we can add agroforestry projects to our portfolio that not only remove carbon, but also significantly support biodiversity and benefit local communities in the short and long term.”
