Google has announced plans to address greenhouse gases beyond carbon dioxide by purchasing credits to support the emerging market for removing short-lived but highly potent “superpollutants.”
The company will buy up to 25,000 tonnes of superpollutant-destruction credits by 2030 from two organisations, Recoolit and Cool Effect—equivalent to about one million tonnes of CO₂ removal over the long term.
While carbon dioxide remains a key focus, Google said gases such as methane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrous oxide have a much greater near-term warming impact. “It’s the right thing to do for the planet,” said Randy Spock, Google’s carbon credits and removals lead. “CO₂ is obviously very important… but if we think only about CO₂, then we’re just looking at one piece of the puzzle.”
Under the partnership, Recoolit will destroy HFCs and CFCs recovered from old air conditioners and refrigerators in Indonesia, while Cool Effect will focus on capturing and eliminating methane from a landfill site in Cuiabá, Brazil.
The UK-based startup Isometric will introduce new methodologies to calculate and verify the reduction in emissions, ensuring credits reflect accurate climate benefits. Its chief executive, Eamon Jubbawy, said: “Superpollutants account for 45% of human-caused global warming. Tackling them could lower global temperatures by 0.5 to 1°C.”
Experts have welcomed Google’s move, noting that such gases receive limited climate finance. Sam Abernethy, a climate scientist at Spark Climate Solutions, said: “Superpollutants only get a few percent of climate finance… that’s a misallocation given their importance.”
He added that while carbon dioxide has driven about 0.8°C of global warming, methane alone accounts for roughly 0.5°C. “The climate conversation has long centred on CO₂,” Abernethy said, “but only now are we beginning to appreciate the impact of other gases.”
Google will record the new credits as CO₂-equivalent units, with adjustments reflecting each gas’s lifespan and warming potential. Earlier this year, Google also signed a carbon removal deal with Vaulted Deep, a startup that stores carbon-rich waste deep underground.
“Our programme is about finding the right ways to fix the atmosphere,” Spock said, “and being the tip of the spear to catalyse solutions that the whole planet—not just Google—can use.”
