Cool Effect Builds on Market-Leading Superpollutant Portfolio with Addition of Rice Methane Reduction Project from Mitti Labs

Nonprofit Expands High-Integrity Carbon Credit Offerings with Purchase of Isometric Tonnes, Supporting Climate Impact and Farmer Livelihoods

BENGALURU, India and SAN FRANCISCO, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Cool Effect, a Bay Area nonprofit that supports high-integrity carbon projects around the globe and recognized leader in superpollutant climate action, today announced a new partnership with Mitti Labs, a Bengaluru and NYC-based climate technology company focused on reducing methane emissions from rice cultivation.

Superpollutant mitigation is one of the most powerful near-term climate strategies, and Cool Effect has positioned itself at the forefront of this rapidly growing segment of the carbon market. Between 2024 and 2025, 64% of all credits purchased through Cool Effect addressed superpollutants, including ozone-depleting substances (ODS) and landfill methane. During this period, Cool Effect purchased 3,365,616 tonnes of superpollutant credits, sending over $36 million directly to project partners. This capital translates into immediate, permanent emissions reductions and durable climate impact. With the addition of rice methane, Cool Effect is expanding its superpollutant portfolio beyond ODS and landfill gas to include a third, rapidly scalable category.

Through this new collaboration, Cool Effect will offer Mitti Labs' high-quality, methane reduction carbon credits to its global network of corporate and individual buyers. In addition to emissions reductions, the project is expected to generate meaningful co-benefits, including increased income for smallholder farmers and the conservation of an estimated 25 billion liters of water in water-stressed regions of India.

This partnership comes at a critical moment for the carbon market, as demand continues to shift toward high-integrity credits with verified climate impact and strong community benefits. At the same time, supply constraints have made it increasingly difficult for buyers to access scalable, scientifically robust projects that meet rigorous standards.

"As the market raises the bar on integrity and impact, it's critical that buyers have access to solutions that are both scientifically rigorous and truly scalable. Cool Effect has focused on reduction of methane and other harmful gases because it delivers some of the most immediate and meaningful climate benefits available today, and over the past two years, our buyers have helped direct significant capital toward projects that meet our standard," said Jodi Manning, CEO of Cool Effect. "We're proud to welcome Mitti Labs to our portfolio. Their credits represent a new frontier in high-integrity climate action, delivering permanent methane reductions from rice cultivation while also driving meaningful co-benefits for water conservation and smallholder farmer incomes. This is exactly the kind of climate solution we believe in."

Rice cultivation plays a critical role in global food systems, feeding nearly half the world's population, and has a massive impact on the climate and water tables. Rice farming occupies 150 Mn hectares in Asia, an area roughly three times the size of California. However, traditional flooding practices used in rice farming are a major contributor to methane emissions, accounting for approximately 12% of global methane output. Rice production also consumes roughly 30% of the world's freshwater supply, placing additional strain on already stressed water systems.

Mitti Labs supports farmers in adopting Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), an irrigation technique that can reduce water use by up to 40% and methane emissions by up to 50% without compromising yields. The organization has already partnered with more than 70,000 farmers across six states in India to implement these practices at scale.

To ensure the integrity of its carbon credits, Mitti Labs uses a robust measurement, reporting, and verification system that combines rigorous in-situ, ground-level methane measurements with the latest in remote sensing technology. This technology, developed in part with the support of NASA, is a 'soil-to-sky' rice-specific dMRV that can monitor irrigation practices on even the smallest plots below 1 Ha. The platform enables accurate, near real-time monitoring of emissions reductions across millions of rice fields, providing the mechanism to generate volumes of high-integrity credits at affordable prices for global buyers and delivering meaningful incentives for farmers to join Mitti Labs' programs.

''This is an exciting time for our young company. Three years after our launch, we have now demonstrated that rice, a key staple for half of humanity, which is also a major guzzler of water and emitter of powerful GHGs, can be turned into a powerful vehicle for climate action. We could not dream of a better initial partner than Cool Effect to bring our high-integrity, dMRV-verified credits to the market,'' said Xavi Laguarta, Mitti Labs co-founder.

With plans to scale to 2 million credits issued annually by 2028, Mitti Labs aims to play a leading role in expanding the supply of high-integrity, methane-based carbon credits. This partnership highlights the growing importance of nature-based climate solutions that deliver measurable emissions reductions while benefiting agricultural systems and local communities.

"High-quality climate solutions require both strong science and real-world applicability," said Johanna Depenthal, PhD, Director of Project Research at Cool Effect. "Mitti Labs' approach shows how innovative monitoring combined with farmer-centered implementation can achieve meaningful emissions reductions in practice."

To learn more about Cool Effect and how to partner with the organization to develop an impactful carbon credit program, please visit cooleffect.org.

About Cool Effect™

Cool Effect is a San Francisco Bay Area 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to reducing carbon emissions around the world. Endorsed by 1% for the Planet, its mission is to educate and then inspire businesses and individuals to take measurable action against climate change by purchasing scientifically verified carbon credits from the world's highest quality projects. It returns more than 90% of each donation directly to its project partners and, since its launch at the Paris COP in 2015, has helped projects receive over $84 million for over ten million tonnes of emissions retired. Like the Butterfly Effect, The Ripple Effect, and others, a single action can have global impact. To learn more, please visit cooleffect.org or follow Cool Effect on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

About Mitti Labs

Mitti Labs combines satellite technology, AI and operations on the ground to permanently reduce methane emissions from rice farming. By doing this, the company unlocks the potential of rice-based carbon credits for climate impact at scale. Mitti Labs is backed by Lightspeed, Voyager Ventures, Cisco, and Volta Circle in its mission to decarbonize the $300 Bn rice-growing industry worldwide. Visit mittilabs.earth to learn more. 

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