• Google will purchase 1 million metric tons CO2e of methane elimination by 2030 and 1 million metric tons of permanent carbon removal by 2040.
• Terradot will deploy methane reducing irrigation and enhanced rock weathering across more than 200,000 hectares of rice farms in southern Brazil.
• The project combines near-term superpollutant cuts with durable carbon removal in a single agricultural system, creating a model that could expand globally.

Google has signed its largest carbon removal purchase to date with Terradot, targeting megaton-scale climate impact across Brazil’s rice-growing regions.

The agreement combines two climate interventions with different time horizons. Google will purchase 1 million metric tons CO2e, measured using 20-year global warming potential, of methane elimination by 2030. It will also purchase 1 million metric tons of permanent carbon removal by 2040.

The companies say it is the first publicly announced project at this scale to combine superpollutant elimination and durable carbon removal within the same agricultural system.

Tackling warming across two timelines

The structure addresses a central challenge for climate policy and corporate decarbonization strategies. Methane reductions can slow warming relatively quickly because methane remains in the atmosphere for far less time than carbon dioxide.

CO2 creates a different problem. It can remain in the atmosphere for centuries to millennia, making durable carbon removal increasingly important for longer-term temperature outcomes.

Google’s approach combines those two timelines. Rapid methane reductions are intended to deliver an earlier climate benefit. Permanent carbon removal will then increase as the project’s enhanced rock weathering process develops.

Google said the approach aims to create “a net decrease in warming on every time horizon.”

The model reflects the company’s broader portfolio strategy of pairing superpollutant mitigation with carbon removal rather than treating them as separate climate priorities.

Rice farms become the deployment platform

Terradot will apply the two approaches across more than 200,000 hectares of rice farms in southern Brazil.

The first is Alternate Wetting and Drying, or AWD. The irrigation technique periodically drains flooded rice paddies instead of keeping them continuously submerged. This reduces the conditions that produce methane while also lowering water consumption.

Terradot will then spread naturally sourced crushed volcanic rock across the same fields. As the material dissolves, it reacts through enhanced rock weathering and removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

The pairing is designed so each technology operates on its most effective timeline. Methane elimination provides faster temperature benefits while the rock gradually weathers. As the methane benefit declines over time, durable carbon removal is expected to take on a larger role.

There are also potential economic benefits for participating farmers. AWD can reduce water consumption and agricultural input costs. The crushed rock may improve soil health, linking climate outcomes with farm productivity and local economics.

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Brazil offers a pathway to global scale

Southern Brazil provides favorable conditions for the model. Warm, wet conditions can accelerate weathering, while basalt quarries are located relatively close to agricultural areas. That proximity could reduce logistical barriers associated with transporting large volumes of rock.

The potential deployment area is considerably larger than the initial project. Brazil has about 1.5 million hectares of rice under cultivation, according to Google.

The company is also funding research into AWD’s methane-reduction potential across different rice systems globally. That work could determine how easily the model can transfer to other major rice-producing regions.

For corporate carbon buyers, the agreement offers another potential structure for climate portfolios. Instead of purchasing methane reductions and carbon removals through unrelated projects, companies could combine near-term and durable interventions within one operating system.

The deal also brings together areas supported through Google’s existing climate market initiatives. These include Frontier and Symbiosis for carbon removal and the Superpollutant Action Initiative for superpollutant mitigation.

The larger test will be whether the Brazil project can deliver credible measurement, verification and agricultural outcomes across more than 200,000 hectares. If it does, the model could provide governments and corporate buyers with a framework for addressing near-term warming while building permanent carbon removal capacity.

For Brazil, it also places one of the country’s largest agricultural systems inside the expanding market for engineered and nature-linked climate solutions. Globally, the project could broaden how companies structure climate procurement across both immediate and long-duration temperature goals.