Big Tech’s latest climate fix? Burn trees, capture the carbon, and bury it underground. (MIT Tech Review)
Microsoft, JPMorgan, Alphabet, Meta, Stripe, and others are throwing millions at bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS)—turning wood waste and plant matter into fuel, then trapping the CO₂ before it escapes.
The pitch: It’s fast, scalable, and relatively cheap—about $210/ton vs. $490 for direct air capture—which explains why BECCS now makes up nearly 70% of all carbon removal deals. Microsoft alone has inked 10M tons’ worth of BECCS contracts.
Yes, but: Critics say BECCS risks becoming a carbon accounting illusion. Harvesting, transporting, and regrowing trees all emit carbon—and calling it “carbon neutral” ignores the decades it takes forests to recover.