Microsoft invests $50 million to fight climate change after U.S. withdrawal from Paris deal
Microsoft plans to spend $50 million to help universities and research institutions fight climate change using artificial intelligence technology.
The investment builds on a $2 million grant program Microsoft started in July, shortly after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement. The deal, signed by nearly 200 nations, is intended to promote clean energy use and phase out fossil fuels through individual plans.
Microsoft’s AI for Earth program provides cloud computing and artificial intelligence resources to help organizations find solutions to climate change, loss of biodiversity, agricultural cost and yield and increased water scarcity.
Microsoft launched the program with a $2 million investment in July and provided grants to 35 organizations in 10 countries.
The latest $50 million investment – which will take place throughout five years – will significantly expand the program, providing seed grants for climate change-focused artificial intelligence applications. The strongest projects will receive larger investments.
Before Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement, Microsoft was in a group of the nation’s largest companies including Google and Facebook that took out full-page ads in major newspapers asking the president to consider the economic case.
Despite the withdrawal, Microsoft in June pledged to work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an open letter signed by more than 1,200 political leaders and businesses including Amazon, Google, REI and Starbucks.
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