Google has signed its largest carbon removal purchase to date with Terradot for a project covering more than 200,000 hectares of rice farmland in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The project combines alternate wetting and drying to reduce methane emissions from rice paddies with enhanced rock weathering to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere.
Key Overview
- Google will purchase 1 million tonnes of CO₂e of methane elimination by 2030.
- It will also purchase 1 million tonnes of permanent carbon removal by 2040.
- The project covers more than 200,000 hectares of rice farmland.
- Terradot will use alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and enhanced rock weathering (ERW).
- The project is described as the largest publicly announced ERW project so far.
- The two volumes should not be treated as 2 million tonnes of permanent carbon removal.
Google Backs Large-Scale Carbon Removal Project in Brazil
Google has signed its largest carbon removal purchase to date with climate company Terradot, supporting a major project in southern Brazil that combines methane reduction from rice farming with permanent carbon removal.
The project will cover more than 200,000 hectares or about 500,000 acres of rice farmland in Rio Grande do Sul.
It will deploy two climate solutions: alternate wetting and drying (AWD) to reduce methane emissions from rice fields and enhanced rock weathering (ERW) to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Google will purchase 1 million tonnes of CO₂e of methane elimination by 2030 and another 1 million tonnes of permanent carbon removal by 2040.
The two volumes represent different climate outcomes and should not be treated as 2 million tonnes of permanent carbon removal. Methane reduction and carbon dioxide removal have different climate effects and time scales.
Combining Methane Reduction With Carbon Removal
The agreement is described as the largest enhanced rock weathering project publicly announced so far and the first project at this scale to combine near-term methane cuts with long-term carbon removal.
Randy Spock, Head of Carbon Removal at Google, said the partnership would combine superpollutant elimination and carbon removal to address both short- and long-term climate impacts.
“While most climate solutions are focused on either short- or long-term horizons, our partnership with Terradot will tackle both timelines simultaneously.”
Spock added that the agreement was designed to be a template for other buyers, suppliers and governments.
One Million Tons of Methane Reduction by 2030
Terradot expects to generate credits equivalent to a reduction of 1 million metric tons of methane by 2030.
The carbon removal component has a longer timeline, with a target of 1 million tons of credits by 2040.
Both results will be generated and verified independently. This separation will distinguish reductions achieved through changes in rice cultivation from CO₂ removed through rock weathering.
The different timelines reflect the nature of the two processes. Methane reductions can occur relatively quickly, while carbon removal through enhanced weathering requires longer periods to accumulate, measure and verify captured CO₂.
How Alternate Wetting and Drying Reduces Methane
Rice cultivation involves the continuous flooding of paddy fields and is identified in the source as a significant source of global methane emissions.
Under the project, Terradot will help rice farmers across more than 200,000 hectares adopt Alternate Wetting and Drying, an irrigation practice that periodically drains flooded paddies.
The approach is expected to reduce water use while sharply reducing methane released from rice fields.
The project could therefore provide benefits for farmers alongside greenhouse gas reductions, including reduced water use and associated costs.
Enhanced Rock Weathering Removes CO₂
Alongside AWD adoption, Terradot will spread crushed volcanic rock across farmland to generate durable carbon removal.
Terradot’s ERW approach accelerates the natural process through which certain minerals react with CO₂. The company crushes basalt rock and spreads it over agricultural land, where the process can lock carbon into rocks over time.
The approach is also expected to improve soil health.
Measurements will be conducted to determine how much CO₂ can be verifiably credited.
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Scaling Enhanced Weathering
The carbon removal portion of the project represents a significant increase in scale for enhanced rock weathering. According to the source, it is roughly equivalent to ten times the volume committed to previous enhanced weathering projects backed by Google.
Google and Terradot said the model could eventually be extended across Brazil’s 1.5 million hectares of rice fields and replicated in other rice-growing regions.
Terradot intends to begin pilot programmes in several countries in 2026, with the aim of reaching full commercial operation by 2028, according to Reuters as cited in the source.
Potential Benefits for Rice Farmers
Beyond greenhouse gas removal, Google and Terradot highlighted potential benefits for farmers.
AWD could reduce water use and related costs, while enhanced rock weathering could improve soil health.
Terradot CEO James Kanoff said the project combines two technologies at large scale rather than treating near-term warming reduction and permanent carbon removal as separate choices.
The companies said the approach could provide climate impacts across different time horizons through the same project.
Deal Price Not Disclosed
Google and Terradot did not disclose the price of the carbon credits.
According to Reuters, Terradot CEO James Kanoff described the project as less expensive than previous deals and said it represented a step toward the $100-per-ton threshold that many developers target to stimulate broader demand.
Google is also an investor in Terradot, having taken an equity stake in the company in 2024, according to Reuters.
Outlook
The agreement forms part of Google’s broader strategy of combining action on short-lived superpollutants with durable carbon removal.
The Brazil project brings methane reduction and enhanced rock weathering together across a large rice-farming area, with separate timelines and verification for the two climate outcomes.
Google and Terradot said the model could be expanded across Brazil’s rice fields and eventually replicated in other rice-growing regions.
FAQs
1. What is Google’s new carbon removal agreement with Terradot?
Google has agreed to purchase 1 million tonnes of CO₂e of methane elimination by 2030 and 1 million tonnes of permanent carbon removal by 2040 from Terradot’s project in Brazil.
2. Where will the Terradot project take place?
The project will cover more than 200,000 hectares of rice farmland in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
3. What climate solutions will the project use?
It will combine Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) to reduce methane emissions from rice fields with Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere.
4. Is the agreement for 2 million tonnes of permanent carbon removal?
No. The two 1-million-tonne volumes represent different climate outcomes. The first relates to methane elimination by 2030, while the second represents permanent carbon removal by 2040.
Sources: CarbonCredits, Inspenet, BNamericas, Yahoo Finance
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