Google has agreed to purchase one million carbon credits from Indian climate technology startup Mitti Labs through 2030.

Companies describe this as the largest publicly announced deal involving credits generated by reducing methane emissions from rice farming.

The four year agreement will support projects across Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, covering approximately 100,000 hectares at peak delivery.

The project will encourage farmers to reduce the amount of time their rice fields remain flooded, a practice designed to lower methane emissions while also conserving water. 

Mitti Labs said the approach can reduce methane emissions by about 50 percent and water consumption by approximately 40 percent without negatively affecting crop yields. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

The deal comes as Google faces challenges in meeting its target of achieving net zero emissions by 2030 while expanding its energy intensive artificial intelligence infrastructure. 

The company’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 18 percent in 2025 to approximately 14.5 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to its environmental report.

Mitti Labs uses artificial intelligence and satellite technology to monitor agricultural land and measure factors such as crop growth, soil moisture and flooding. 

The startup currently works with more than 100,000 farmers and plans to expand into the Philippines later this year, followed by Indonesia and other Southeast Asian markets in 2027. 

The company said the Google agreement would provide additional resources to scale its operations and reach more farming communities.

Source: Tech Crunch