Google and Terradot have announced a megaton-scale climate project in southern Brazil that combines methane avoidance in rice farming with permanent carbon removal. The initiative covers more than 200,000 hectares in Rio Grande do Sul and is the largest enhanced rock weathering project ever undertaken. Google will purchase one million metric tons of near-term methane impact by 2030 and one million metric tons of carbon removal impact by 2040, marking its largest carbon removal purchase to date.
Addressing Two Warming Timelines
The initiative is designed to confront two climate challenges that operate on different timelines. Methane, a superpollutant responsible for roughly one third of human-caused warming to date, clears from the atmosphere within about a decade and therefore demands immediate cuts. Carbon dioxide, by contrast, accumulates and continues heating the planet for centuries, requiring durable removal to lower long-term temperatures.
How the Project Works
Terradot will support rice farmers in adopting Alternate Wetting and Drying, an irrigation method that periodically drains flooded paddies to reduce water use and sharply lower methane emissions. The company will also spread naturally sourced crushed volcanic rock on the same farmland, generating permanent carbon removal through enhanced rock weathering. By the time the short-lived methane benefit expires, the durable carbon removal impact will be realized, and farmers will benefit from lower input costs and improved soil health.
Scientific and Commercial Validation
Southern Brazil offers favorable conditions, including tropical soils, a warm and wet climate, flooded rice systems, and basalt quarries near farmland. Terradot brings commercial experience from over 500,000 tons of rock deployed and 20,000 hectares treated across two continents, strengthened by its February 2026 acquisition of Eion. Google is also funding research with Terradot and Stanford Doerr School's Soil and Environmental Biogeochemistry Lab to strengthen the scientific foundation of methane mitigation through Alternate Wetting and Drying.
A Replicable Climate Blueprint
Leaders from both organizations described the agreement as a template rather than a one-off transaction. Google's Head of Carbon Removal, Randy Spock, said the structure can be followed by any buyer, supplier, or government seeking meaningful near-term and long-term climate impact. The approach aligns with Google's 2026 environmental report and its published guidance on pairing superpollutant abatement with durable carbon removal.
Company Momentum and Funding
Terradot, which has raised $58 million from investors including Google, Microsoft, and Gigascale Capital, is positioning itself as a leading enhanced rock weathering platform. The company has signed committed offtake agreements with buyers such as Frontier, Microsoft, and JP Morgan and has issued certified credits under multiple protocols. It is targeting one million tonnes of carbon removal annually by 2035, supported by a science team led by co-founder Professor Scott Fendorf.
Benefits for Farmers and Communities
Farmers in Rio Grande do Sul stand to gain directly from the project through potential reductions in water and input costs, while the crushed rock can improve soil health and give local communities a stake in climate impact. The project brings investment and technical support into rural communities across the region. It is explicitly designed for replication across Brazil's 1.5 million hectares of rice cultivation and eventually other rice-growing regions worldwide.
The Terradot and Google partnership marks a notable step toward integrating immediate superpollutant elimination with permanent carbon removal inside a single agricultural system. Its structure may serve as a blueprint for other buyers, suppliers, and governments aiming to maximize climate outcomes across different time horizons. By combining measurable methane avoidance with certified carbon removal, the project demonstrates how commercial agriculture can deliver both rapid and long-lasting climate benefits.