2 minute read | May.08.2025
Microsoft has signed a 30-year agreement with Climate Impact Partners to acquire 1.5 million tonnes of verified carbon removal credits from the Panna afforestation project, a community-based project in India. This marks a significant milestone for Microsoft in the APAC region with its first long-term offtake from a carbon removal project in India and the largest in the APAC region to date.
Orrick represented Microsoft.
The Panna afforestation project will plant up to 11.6 million mixed native trees across 20,000 hectares of farmer and community lands in Madhya Pradesh, India – an area bigger than Washington, D.C. Farmers will benefit directly by receiving a share of carbon credit sales and income generated from the sale of fruit and medicinal products from the planted trees. To date, over 1.2 million trees have been planted across 100 communities. Beyond carbon sequestration, the initiative promotes economic empowerment, sustainable agriculture, water conservation, and biodiversity reforestation.
“The collaboration with Climate Impact Partners helps to ensure that millions more trees are planted, more carbon is removed from the atmosphere, more jobs are created, and more finance flows back to local communities,” said Brian Marrs, Senior Director of Energy Markets at Microsoft.
“We are incredibly proud that Microsoft, a company that continues to demonstrate bold, climate-responsible leadership, is supporting Panna, a project developed by our expert team,” said Sheri Hickok, CEO of Climate Impact Partners. “By securing a long-term supply of high-quality carbon credits, this model empowers companies like Microsoft to meet their ambitious climate targets, drive growth in the carbon removal market, and bring benefits to communities most impacted by climate change. Panna exemplifies how companies can help scale large-scale carbon removal infrastructure.”
Orrick’s Lana Le Hir led the team that advised Microsoft. The team also included Karthik Kumar and Ian Faucher.