Google Invests Big in Indian Rice Farming Carbon Credits Deal

Google has announced its largest-ever superpollutant carbon credit deal with startup Mitti Labs. Under the agreement, Google will purchase 1 million carbon credits over four years from projects that help smallholder farmers in India transition to practices reducing methane emissions from rice farming.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas responsible for almost half of global warming to date, according to the IPCC. Google's GHG removal strategy has included a focus on superpollutants, with the company committing to spend at least $50 million by 2030 on projects designed to eliminate emissions from methane and other non-CO2 greenhouse gases.

The new deal supports Mitti Labs' work in introducing Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) to rice paddies in India. AWD disrupts oxygen-depleted soil conditions that generate methane, cutting emissions by about 50% while also reducing irrigation water use by close to 40%, without sacrificing yield.

According to Mitti Labs, the deal will enable more than 100,000 hectares of rice fields to shift to AWD by 2030, enabling the equivalent to 1 million tonnes of CO2e removal when measured over a 100-year period. The agreement also aims to save 1.5 trillion liters of water.