Bravo Satya Nadella! Anand Mahindra lauds Microsoft CEO for stance on climate change

Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra on Thursday praised  Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella as his company pledged to erase its carbon footprint.

"Bravo @satyanadella When I announced the intention of @MahindraRise to be carbon neutral by 2040-10 years ahead of the deadline-I thought we were being bold. You have raised the bar for us all," Mahindra tweeted.

Microsoft announced today that it would be removing as much carbon as it has emitted in its 45-year history.

The plan includes the creation of a "Climate Innovation Fund," which will invest $1 billion over the next four years to speed up the development of carbon removal technology.

"If the last decade has taught us anything, it's that technology built without these principles can do more harm than good," Nadella said.

"If global temperatures continue to rise unabated the results will be devastating," Nadella added.

Last year, Amazon.com Inc pledged to be "net zero carbon" by 2040. It also promised to buy 100,000 electric delivery vans from a startup, after employee activists pushed the retailer to toughen its stance on climate change.

Microsoft plans to become net zero carbon a decade earlier than Amazon, although its emissions are roughly a third of Amazon's.

 Microsoft expects to release 16 million metric tons of carbon in 2020, including indirect emissions from activities like corporate travel.

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(With agencies input)