Google has invested more than $100 million in carbon removal credits, thereby accelerating its Google Carbon Credits 2024 effort. The company is getting closer to its net-zero emissions target, strengthening its climate action plan, and accelerating the growth of the carbon removal industry with this significant commitment.

Increasing Investments in Carbon Removal

As part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) carbon removal purchase program, Google first committed $35 million for carbon removals in March 2024. But the tech behemoth achieved more than 790,000 tons of carbon reductions through a variety of means, considerably exceeding this goal. The Frontier consortium, a carbon removal purchasing collective supported by Google, Meta, Stripe, and other industry giants, and direct agreements were used to get these contracts.

Google’s carbon removal portfolio includes several cutting-edge strategies:

• Restoring more than 62,600 tons of natural carbon sinks
• Weathering of advanced rock: over 262,000 tons
• More than 344,000 tons of biomass carbon removal and storage (BiCRS)
• More than 121,000 tons of direct air capture (DAC)

According to a Google representative, “these investments represent a commitment to accelerating scalable carbon removal solutions and driving innovation in the field.” “We hope to increase our influence and ease the shift to a sustainable future by promoting a variety of approaches.”

Strategic Alliances for Solutions Based on Nature

Google co-founded the Symbiosis Coalition, a nature-based carbon reduction project, in 2024 with Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce. The partnership is committed to improving natural carbon sinks and supporting ecological restoration, with the ambitious objective of buying up to 20 million tons of nature-based carbon credits by 2030.

In order to improve carbon sequestration, Google also supported the Canadian carbon removal company CarbonRun, landing a $25.4 million contract for 55,000 tons of removals over four years utilizing a cutting-edge “river liming” process.

Developing New Technologies for Carbon Removal

Google made history by announcing one of the biggest biochar carbon removal agreements to date. Google plans to use biomass-based carbon capture in collaboration with California-based Charm Industrial and Varaha, India, to extract up to 200,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere. Additionally, the business has contributed to CO280, a biomass capture and storage initiative.

Additionally, by obtaining the most affordable DAC credits ever, Google established a new standard for the industry. Google obtained removal credits for just $100 per ton in a deal with DAC startup Holocene, which is far less than the industry average of $600-$1,000 per ton at the moment. However, when Holocene continues to scale its technology, these credits won’t be provided until the early 2030s.

Resolving Carbon Emissions Caused by AI

The timing of Google’s increased carbon removal initiatives is critical. Google’s emissions increased by 13% in 2023 due to the increasing energy demands of artificial intelligence, which is a 48% increase from 2019. Google has changed its approach in response to these difficulties, concentrating on developing actual carbon removal technologies rather than relying on conventional carbon offset credits.

Expanded Industry Trend

Although it was the first significant IT business to match DOE’s $35 million promise to carbon removal, Google is not the only one making this effort. With a commitment of at least $35 million for carbon reductions over the following year, Meta joined the program in October 2024. This increasing dedication from tech behemoths points to a larger industry trend toward significant climate solutions.

Taking a Forward Look

Google is revolutionizing the business via innovation and climate action with its Google carbon credits 2024 promise. The corporation is promoting a global transition to a more sustainable future in addition to achieving its net-zero goal by increasing investments in technology and natural carbon removal options.