Google signs its biggest rice-methane carbon credit deal with Indian startup Mitti Labs
The four-year agreement will cover rice farms across three Indian states, reaching about 100,000 hectares at peak delivery.
Google has secured a deal to purchase 1 million carbon credits from Indian startup Mitti Labs, aimed at reducing methane emissions in rice farming across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. The four-year agreement, worth undisclosed financial terms, will cover approximately 100,000 hectares of rice farms at peak delivery. Mitti Labs' GeoAI platform, utilizing satellite radar imagery and field measurements, helps farmers adopt practices that cut methane emissions by around 50% and irrigation water use by approximately 40% without compromising crop yields.
This innovative approach aligns with Google's aim to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030 while investing in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The startup, founded in 2023, has already saved over 500 billion liters of water in its projects. Mitti Labs, with its technology and water-saving capabilities, is well-suited for Google's growing carbon-credit portfolio.
The agreement comes after a year of talks between Mitti Labs and Google, with the tech giant drawn to the project's water savings and the startup's scalability. Google's evaluation process included reviewing Mitti Labs' monitoring technology and conducting on-site visits to farms. The startup, currently working with more than 100,000 farmers, aims to scale its operations and reach millions of farmers by 2030, with a majority of revenue going directly to farming communities.
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