Welcome to this pro rata, where we take just 10 minutes to get you smarter on the collision of tech, business, and politics.

I'm Dan Pramak. On today's show, black voter sentiment on President Trump and a California startup takes on the aftermath of wildfires.

But first, corporate carbon.

So Microsoft yesterday pledged that it will become carbon negative by 2030, not just carbon

neutral, but carbon negative.

It is a massive promise from one of the world's largest companies and also includes a secondary

effort to remove all the historical carbon it's admitted since being founded in 1975,

although the deadline for that would be 2050.

So here's how Microsoft plans to get there.

First, it will expand its own internal carbon tax to apply to its supply chains, not just emissions from direct operations.

Second, it'll help suppliers and customers reduce

their own carbon footprints and make carbon reduction an explicit part of its procurement process.

Third, Microsoft plans to create a $1 billion fund to accelerate the development of so-called carbon

capture technology. And this is the part that might really matter because a 2018 UN report

concluded that preventing catastrophic global heat increases must involve not just cutting carbon

emission levels, but actually removing some of what's already there. It is big, it is bold,

it's maybe impossible, and even Microsoft is hedging a bit when it comes to the

politics. In 15 seconds, we'll go deeper with Axios energy reporter Amy Harder. But first,

this. Axios chief technology correspondent, Enah Freed, shares breaking news and analysis on the

most consequential companies and players in tech from the valley to DC. Subscribe to get smarter

faster at signup.axios.com. And now back to the pro rata podcast. We're joined now by

Axios Energy reporter Amy Harder. So Amy, let's start here on Microsoft. They say they are going

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