Mitti Labs co-founder Xavier Laguarta Soler is featured in Time's 2026 list of influential climate leaders. The company trains smallholder rice farmers in Southeast Asia to cut methane emissions, using satellite data and AI to verify progress. In September 2026, Google agreed to buy 1 million carbon credits through 2030 from Mitti Labs' India projects, highlighting the growing role of corporate carbon procurement. Soler also pushes for more government participation in carbon markets, citing aviation's CORSIA scheme and Singapore's carbon pricing as models. He argues that voluntary buying is not enough. On nitrogen, he notes that over half of applied fertilizer in India is wasted, contributing to nitrous oxide emissions. He advocates for better measurement tools to unlock finance for efficiency programs, citing China's success in cutting nitrogen use while boosting yields.
