Google has finalized its largest carbon-removal agreement to date, supporting a Brazilian project managed by developer Terradot, which seeks to reduce methane emissions from rice production and extract carbon dioxide from the air, according to reports.

Covering over 200,000 hectares in the southern region of Rio Grande do Sul, it stands as the biggest enhanced rock-weathering initiative so far, designed to hasten a natural process where specific rocks capture CO2 from the air.

The project, which Google stated it aims to use as a model for upcoming initiatives, is the first of its kind to integrate methane reduction and carbon extraction on such a large scale, according to Randy Spock, the firm's carbon removal director.

Addressing methane, a 'super-pollutant' greenhouse gas that heats the atmosphere more rapidly than carbon dioxide, aids in mitigating global warming, yet carbon dioxide removal remains essential over the long term to manage centuries of built-up emissions.

"We must accomplish both tasks. We cannot afford to dedicate all our resources solely to targeting transient super-pollutants, nor can we channel all our resources exclusively into expanding long-term carbon removal," Spock stated.

The initiative is expected to produce 1 million metric tons of methane-reduction credits by 2030 and 1 million tons of carbon-capture credits by 2040, with each being produced and verified independently. The carbon-removal aspect of the agreement is ten times greater than earlier rock-weathering initiatives.

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According to a 2021 evaluation by the U.N. Environment Program, rice paddies contribute 10% to 12% of worldwide methane emissions. Speeding up efforts on methane is anticipated to be crucial to the COP31 climate discussions in Turkey later this year.

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Major tech firms face increasing pressure to boost investments in clean energy and carbon removal to mitigate emissions from AI-powered data centers. Google invested in Terradot by acquiring an equity stake in 2024.