Microsoft Sets New Carbon Target to Help Meet Paris Climate Deal
Microsoft Corp. joined a growing number of companies pledging to curb their emissions in line with the international efforts to keep global warming to no more than 2 degrees Celsius.
The world’s biggest software company by revenue set a new target to cut carbon dioxide by 75 percent between 2013 and 2030, which is scientifically aligned with the landmark Paris Agreement, according to a blog posting Tuesday by Microsoft President Brad Smith.
The announcement was made during the United Nations annual climate conference, where a group of businesses and U.S. state leaders have voiced support for the Paris deal despite President Donald Trump’s plan to withdraw. Microsoft’s new target builds on previous goals to increase its use of renewable energy and set an internal carbon price.
“As we continue to build a global cloud platform, we increasingly turn to renewable energy because it’s a clean energy source and it gives us better long-term financial predictability,” said Smith in the blog.
About 300 major companies are planning to set science-based climate targets targets over the next two years, according to the non-profit group CDP.
“Getting on track to meet America’s targets under the Paris Agreement without federal support will require a new groundswell of commitments from businesses, cities and states at the scale Microsoft aspires to and beyond,’’ said Lou Leonard, World Wildlife Fund’s senior vice president of climate change and energy, in an email.
Source: Bloomberg
