Isometric has issued its first superpollutant certificates, with more than 97,000 rice methane certificates generated by Mitti Labs’ projects in South India. The issuance shows that projects can now deliver high-quality emissions reductions at scale from rice farming, one of the largest sources of methane.
Methane has driven around a third of global warming to date, and cutting it is one of the fastest ways to slow climate change. Yet methane concentrations hit a new record in 2025, according to the World Meteorological Organization. A recent IIASA study found that fully implementing national methane plans would cut emissions by 11% by 2030, leaving a significant gap to the Global Methane Pledge’s target of 30% below 2020 levels.
Growing demand for superpollutant reductions
To help close that gap, corporate buyers are increasingly backing projects that reduce superpollutants, gases such as methane that warm the planet far more than carbon dioxide over the short term. In March, companies including Amazon, Google, JPMorganChase, and Salesforce committed $100 million to superpollutant projects. Google and Salesforce have since signed agreements with Mitti Labs for a combined 1.5 million tonnes of emissions reductions.
“We are thrilled to partner with Isometric on their first issuance of superpollutant certificates. Corporate buyers are increasingly diversifying their offset portfolios to include mitigation pathways like rice methane reduction. Isometric’s scientific rigor unlocks new demand for these credits, allowing us to scale our programs more quickly for maximum impact,” said Xavi Laguarta, co-founder at Mitti Labs.
Cutting methane from rice farming
Rice farming alone emits around 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent every year, as much as the global aviation industry. This is primarily caused by flooded paddies, where oxygen-poor soils let methane-producing microbes thrive.
Mitti Labs’ projects reduce these emissions by helping more than 100,000 farmers across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Odisha to adopt Alternate Wetting and Drying, which involves draining and reflooding their fields at set intervals rather than keeping them flooded all season. The practice cuts methane emissions by up to 50% and reduces water use by 40%, without decreasing crop yields.
Revenue from the certificates will help fund Mitti Labs’ projects, creating employment opportunities for local communities. From early 2027, a share of the revenue will be delivered directly to participating farmers.
How the certificates were verified
As demand for superpollutant reductions grows, buyers need confidence that each certificate reflects a real reduction. Mitti Labs’ certificates were independently verified under the Rice Methane Reduction Protocol, which Isometric’s Science Team developed with input from its independent Science Network of more than 500 members. Each certificate represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions reduced.
Certify, Isometric’s AI-powered platform, made fast issuance possible by automating the manual checks and calculations that once limited issuance to an annual cycle. Anyone can review the data and evidence behind each certificate on the Isometric Registry.
