Microsoft’s 2026 sustainability report indicates the company’s carbon emissions rose 25 percent in 2025, reaching 34 million metric tons “without select interventions,” according to reporting by GeekWire. Microsoft attributes the increase primarily to the expansion of its datacenter infrastructure, along with a decision made last February to stop purchasing “non-additional, unbundled renewable energy certificates.”
The figures come as Microsoft continues to pursue a goal, set several years ago, to be carbon negative by 2030 — a target that requires removing more carbon than it emits.
Why it matters
The reported emissions increase highlights the tension between growing datacenter demand and corporate climate commitments. The rise puts additional distance between Microsoft’s current output and its stated 2030 objective.
Who should care
Enterprises relying on cloud infrastructure, sustainability teams, and observers of the environmental impact of large-scale computing will find the report relevant.