The State Council recently issued the “Opinions on Deepening the Implementation of the ‘Artificial Intelligence +’ Action Plan,” which systematically plans the roadmap for the deep integration of artificial intelligence with all areas of the economy and society in the form of a national strategy for the first time, and sets important development goals for the intelligent economy for the years 2027, 2030, and 2035. As artificial intelligence deeply integrates with various industries, the construction of data centers will flourish, leading to a significant increase in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. According to the International Energy Agency’s special report “Energy and Artificial Intelligence,” global data center electricity consumption is expected to reach approximately 415 terawatt-hours in 2024 and is projected to reach 1200 terawatt-hours by 2035. Against the backdrop of the global climate crisis, Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology, with its unique “negative carbon asset” properties, has become a key solution in the era of artificial intelligence and low-carbon economic investment and financing activities (carbon finance).
With the surge in AI computing power demand and the acceleration of carbon market financialization, international technology and petrochemical giants are actively investing in DAC technology, promoting the technological iteration of adsorbent materials and equipment, providing important support for global carbon neutrality goals. For example, Microsoft mentioned in its “2025 Sustainability Report” that it has developed DAC and data center integration technology, while both Microsoft and Meta have used AI models to accelerate the research and development of DAC adsorbent materials and reduce operational costs. Traditional petrochemical giants, due to their mastery of underground geological data during oil and gas exploration, have obtained exclusive rights for carbon storage; for instance, ExxonMobil holds exclusive rights for carbon storage in Indonesia and Malaysia, and thus actively supports DAC technology to respond to the carbon finance era. Occidental Petroleum (OXY.US) purchased 68% of Carbon Engineering for approximately $1.1 billion in cash in 2023 and is building a DAC facility with a capacity of 500,000 tons. The carbon dioxide captured through DAC technology can be stored underground through mineralization or converted into low-carbon fuels for power generation and industrial production, generating carbon credits in the process, which can not only offset the emission costs of petrochemical companies but also create additional revenue in the carbon trading market.
This combination of carbon finance and DAC technology not only drives the transformation of traditional energy companies but also provides liquidity support for the global carbon pricing mechanism. Once carbon credits enter the market for trading, companies can obtain additional revenue through sales or pledges, forming a “carbon account + carbon credit + carbon financing” linkage mechanism. Predictions indicate that by 2030, the scale of DAC carbon credit trading is expected to exceed $100 billion, becoming a core component of the green finance system.
As blockchain technology continues to be applied, the tokenization of carbon credits has become one of the innovative applications of RWA in the field of sustainable development. It transforms carbon credits into divisible, tradable, and traceable digital assets, optimizing the liquidity, transparency, and trading thresholds of traditional carbon trading markets. With the decentralized architecture of blockchain, the tokenization of carbon credits allows previously fragmented and non-homogeneous carbon credit assets to circulate freely on-chain and be priced in real-time, attracting numerous investors and injecting funds and liquidity into the carbon market. At the same time, the on-chain data is immutable and fully auditable, enhancing market credibility. According to IDNfinancials, in July 2025, JPMorgan experimented with the tokenization of carbon credits through blockchain technology, marking the acceleration of financialization in the carbon market.
However, the technical complexity of carbon credit tokens involves intricate blockchain and smart contract mechanisms, which increases the risk of financial fraud. Moreover, the certification of underlying assets still relies on centralized institutions, and blockchain technology only enhances the transparency and traceability of on-chain transactions. Nevertheless, the tokenization of carbon credits still provides new ideas for sustainable development, which need to be continuously improved under technological advancement and policy support.
In summary, the combination of DAC technology with green finance and RWA not only provides a new technological path to address the global climate crisis but also injects new vitality into the innovation and development of the carbon finance market.
(The author is a senior researcher at the Zhongguancun Internet Finance Research Institute)
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