Google has signed its largest carbon removal deal to date, backing a 200,000-hectare enhanced rock weathering project in southern Brazil run by Terradot. The project aims to cut methane emissions from rice farming and capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, generating 1 million tons of methane-abatement credits by 2030 and 1 million tons of carbon-removal credits by 2040. It is the first project at this scale to combine both approaches. The deal is notable for its scale and for testing a new model that could be expanded across Brazil's 1.5 million hectares of rice fields and replicated in India and Vietnam. While the price per ton was not disclosed, a previous Terradot deal implied around $300 per ton, still above the $100 target many developers see as needed for broad demand. The companies say the new project will be cheaper and that extending the verification period could cut costs. Google's investment is part of its push to address emissions from AI data centers. The project will need to prove its verification methods and avoid double counting of methane and carbon removal credits. If it works, it could become a template for future large-scale projects combining short-lived methane reduction with long-term carbon dioxide removal.
