Google will buy carbon credits from an Indian initiative that turns large amounts of agricultural waste into biochar – a form of charcoal that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and returns it to the soil, it said on Thursday.
The deal – signed by Google and Indian supplier Varaha – is one of the biggest ever involving biochar, and is the tech giant’s first foray into India’s carbon dioxide removal (CDR) sector.
Google is one of a number of big tech companies looking to offset emissions through CDR, which refers to a range of interventions designed to remove CO2 already in the atmosphere and oceans.
While some developers are looking at expensive new technologies that extract CO2 directly from the air, solutions like biochar could prove a cheaper near-term option.
“Biochar is a promising approach to carbon removal because it has the ability to scale worldwide, using existing technology, with positive side effects for soil health,” said Randy Spock, Google’s carbon removal lead.
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