Google Signs Largest-Ever Rice Methane Carbon Credit Deal With Mitti Labs
Google will buy 1 million carbon credits from Mitti Labs, funding methane-cutting rice irrigation for over 70,000 smallholder farmers in India.
Photo by Nguyễn Thanh Ngọc on Pexels
Google agreed on September 10, 2026, to buy 1 million carbon credits from agri-tech startup Mitti Labs, in what the companies describe as the largest publicly announced rice-methane carbon credit purchase to date and Google’s largest superpollutant deal. The agreement funds a transition to Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation for more than 70,000 smallholder rice farmers across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in India, with financial terms undisclosed.
AWD irrigation lets rice paddies dry out periodically between floodings instead of staying continuously submerged, which cuts methane emissions from the flooded soil by up to roughly 50% and reduces irrigation water use by close to 40%, without reducing crop yields, according to Mitti Labs. The companies said the deal targets roughly 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of rice farmland at peak delivery and is projected to save billions of liters of water, an amount the companies compare to Bengaluru’s annual water supply over three years.
Sources gave differing figures for the contract length: Mitti Labs’ press release describes it as a five-year agreement, while the company’s co-founder Xavier Laguarta told TechCrunch it is a four-year deal, with both sources agreeing that credit delivery runs through 2030. Google Chief Sustainability Officer Kate Brandt was quoted in the companies’ joint announcement; Laguarta was quoted in both the press release and TechCrunch’s independent reporting.
How the credits are verified
Mitti Labs monitors participating farms using a GeoAI platform developed with support from NASA, which combines synthetic aperture radar satellite imagery at resolutions from about 50 centimeters to 10 meters with field-collected data to track flooding, soil moisture and crop growth at the level of individual farms, according to TechCrunch. The credits are certified under carbon-market standards including Gold Standard and Isometric, and Mitti Labs’ methane credits carry an “A” rating from ratings agency Sylvera, per the companies’ press release.
Google’s purchase is structured around near-term climate impact: the companies said the deal targets eliminating 3 million tons of near-term warming impact measured on a 20-year global warming potential basis, equivalent to about 1 million tons on the more commonly used 100-year basis. Methane traps substantially more heat than carbon dioxide over shorter timeframes, which is why buyers such as Google have started targeting it separately from CO2-focused offsets.
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Carbon credits purchased | 1,000,000 |
| Smallholder farmers involved | 70,000+ |
| Target farmland at peak delivery | ~100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) |
| Methane reduction from AWD | Up to ~50% |
| Irrigation water reduction from AWD | ~40% |
| Near-term warming impact targeted | 3 million tons (GWP20) / ~1 million tons (GWP100) |
| States covered | Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana |
A second deal, not the funding round
The carbon credit purchase follows Mitti Labs’ $9.5 million Series A funding round, led by Aramco Ventures and announced August 5, 2026 – a separate, earlier transaction that raised equity capital rather than buying credits. The companies’ September announcement states Mitti Labs has now raised $12.5 million in total funding, a figure that includes capital beyond the named Series A round. Winss previously covered that funding round, which financed Mitti Labs’ expansion into the Philippines and Indonesia alongside its existing India operations.
About Mitti Labs
Mitti Labs is an agri-tech company that combines satellite monitoring with field data to help smallholder rice farmers cut methane emissions and water use. Its GeoAI platform was developed with NASA support and fuses radar satellite imagery with ground-truth data and physical models to verify farm-level results for carbon credit buyers. The company says its programs have saved 500 billion liters of water to date across all of its projects, a figure it compares to Bengaluru’s annual water supply. Mitti Labs raised $9.5 million in an August 2026 Series A round led by Aramco Ventures before securing the September 2026 carbon credit agreement with Google, which the companies describe as the largest publicly announced rice-methane credit deal to date.
Sources: ESG Today; TechCrunch; Winss Solutions (prior Mitti Labs coverage)
Featured image: photo by Nguyễn Thanh Ngọc on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
