Tag: Climate Solutions

Rock Weathering: A Natural Climate Solution Transforming Carbon Removal

Rock Weathering: A Natural Climate Solution Transforming Carbon Removal

Introduction: Why We Need to Look Beneath Our Feet

As climate change accelerates, the urgency to remove carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere has intensified. Governments, companies, and climate scientists are searching for scalable, affordable, and permanent solutions. Among nature-based and tech-assisted methods, one solution that’s gaining traction yet remains under-discussed is “rock weathering.” This naturally occurring geological process may not sound revolutionary, but its potential to sequester billions of tonnes of carbon is drawing serious attention.

India, too, with its vast basaltic formations and mineral-rich terrain, is uniquely positioned to lead in the application of this method — especially with the emergence of Article 6 mechanisms and India’s own Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS). But before we get to the market opportunities, let’s understand what rock weathering actually is.

1. What is Rock Weathering?

Rock weathering is the natural process by which rocks break down over time due to exposure to air, water, and biological activity. When it comes to climate, we are specifically interested in a sub-type called “chemical weathering” — particularly of silicate minerals.

Here’s how it works:

-Silicate rocks (like basalt or olivine) react with atmospheric CO₂ and rainwater.

-This forms bicarbonates, which are eventually washed into the oceans.

-Over thousands of years, the bicarbonates turn into carbonates and are stored in marine sediments — effectively locking away CO₂.

This process has been regulating Earth’s climate for millions of years, but it operates on geological timeframes. What’s new is the idea of “enhanced weathering.”

2. Enhanced Weathering: Speeding Up a Natural Process

Enhanced weathering is a climate intervention technique that aims to accelerate this natural CO₂ removal process by:

-Crushing silicate rocks to increase surface area

-Spreading them over farmland, grasslands, or degraded land

-Letting rainfall and soil processes do the rest

One of the key advantages is that this method is permanent, meaning the captured carbon doesn’t get released back into the atmosphere like in many short-term offset projects. And it does not require massive infrastructure.

Think of it as turning crushed rock into a carbon sponge.

3. The Science Behind It

The chemical formula for the reaction is often simplified like this:

CaSiO3+CO2→CaCO3+SiO2CaSiO_3 + CO_2 → CaCO_3 + SiO_2

This means one molecule of silicate binds with one molecule of CO₂ to form solid calcium carbonate and silica.

Some popular rocks for this purpose include:

-Olivine – Found in dunite, highly reactive with CO₂

-Basalt – Abundant in India’s Deccan Plateau

-Peridotite – Found in ophiolites, very high in magnesium silicates

The key is the reaction kinetics — how fast the rocks weather in a given climate and soil condition. Humid tropical environments like India offer excellent conditions for faster weathering.

4. Agronomic Co-benefits: More Than Just Carbon

Interestingly, this approach doesn’t just sequester carbon. It also improves soil health:

-Reduces soil acidity – A natural liming effect, particularly helpful in acidic soils

-Adds nutrients – Basalt contains potassium, calcium, and magnesium

-Improves water retention – Microporous crushed rock increases soil capacity

-Boosts crop yields – Some early studies show 5–10% increase in output

This makes it ideal for integrating with agricultural programs, especially in smallholder farming systems like India’s. Enhanced rock weathering could serve dual purposes: climate mitigation and rural soil rejuvenation.

5. Potential in India: A Hidden Advantage

India’s geology offers one of the largest contiguous basalt formations in the world — the Deccan Traps, spanning Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and parts of Telangana and Karnataka. These rocks are not just abundant but also underutilized.

Why India is Strategically Positioned:

If India scales this approach regionally, it could create a climate-positive agri-revolution.

6. Rock Weathering vs. Other Carbon Removal Methods

Let’s compare rock weathering with some other popular carbon removal approaches:

Approach Cost (USD/tCO₂) Permanence Co-benefits Maturity
Rock Weathering $50–$150 1,000+ yrs Soil, yield Emerging
Biochar $30–$120 100–500 yrs Soil fertility Mature
DAC (Direct Air Capture) $600–$1000+ 1,000+ yrs None Nascent
Afforestation $10–$50 Decades Biodiversity Mature
Soil Carbon $15–$50 Short-term Agronomic benefits Mature

What stands out is the permanence of rock weathering — it offers high-integrity carbon removal without the risk of reversal.

7. Current Research and Pilot Projects

Globally, organizations like UNDO (UK), Project Vesta (US), and Lithos Carbon (US) are conducting large-scale field trials. Some early learnings include:

-Fine particle size increases weathering speed

-Optimal pH and microbial activity boost CO₂ capture

-Yield gains create additional incentives for farmers

In India, few pilots are underway — mostly in Karnataka and Maharashtra, often piggybacking on regenerative agriculture or CSR programs. The current bottleneck? Lack of awareness, field-level deployment partners, and MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) frameworks.

This is where outreach-focused organizations like Anaxee can play a crucial role.

8. MRV for Rock Weathering: The Tech Challenge

Measuring how much CO₂ has been captured through rock weathering isn’t straightforward. It requires:

-Soil and water sampling – Bicarbonate concentrations, pH shifts

-Isotope tracing – Carbon isotopes to confirm geological origin

-Modeling weathering rates – Using geochemical software like PHREEQC

-Remote sensing and AI – For monitoring deployment and crop impact

Emerging dMRV platforms can help digitize this — using drone surveys, soil sensors, and machine learning to predict and verify CO₂ sequestration.

9. Policy and Carbon Market Integration

Enhanced rock weathering is already recognized by:

-IPCC as a negative emissions technology

-Puro.earth as a certifiable carbon removal methodology

-Verra is in the process of developing weathering protocols

-CCTS (India) can enable voluntary issuance in a co-benefit-linked framework

As India’s carbon market matures under Article 6.2 and 6.4, early projects in rock weathering can be positioned for future trading. Particularly if India adopts a separate track for durable carbon removals — as seen in the EU and US.

10. Risks and Criticism: A Balanced View

No solution is perfect. Rock weathering faces challenges:

-Dust inhalation – Crushed rocks need safe handling protocols

-Energy use – Crushing rocks consumes energy; needs renewable power

-Ecological impact – Mining new rock could harm ecosystems

-Measurement uncertainty – Requires sophisticated MRV, still evolving

Mitigation involves using mine tailings, renewable-powered crushing, and targeting degraded land for spreading.

11. What’s Next: The Road to Scale

Here’s how this can move from pilot to large-scale deployment in India:

  1. Mapping basalt deposits – Government geological surveys + remote sensing

  2. Farmer partnerships – Particularly in acidic-soil districts

  3. Integration with CSR/NbS – Projects by corporates looking for removals

  4. MRV stack development – With tech partners and carbon platforms

  5. Carbon credit registration – Either with Verra, Gold Standard, or future Indian registries

Anaxee, with its rural last-mile capabilities and tech-enabled tracking, is well placed to be an execution partner in this new frontier.

Conclusion: Turning Rocks into a Climate Asset

Rock weathering represents the fusion of deep-time geology with cutting-edge climate science. It’s quiet, solid, and permanent- just like the rocks themselves. And it could turn India’s volcanic past into a climate-secure future.

As the carbon market shifts toward durable removals, enhanced rock weathering offers India a rare opportunity: to lead the world by deploying a homegrown, natural climate solution — quite literally — from the ground up.

About Anaxee:

Anaxee drives large-scale, country-wide Climate and Carbon Credit projects across India. We specialize in Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) and community-driven initiatives, providing the technology and on-ground network needed to execute, monitor, and ensure transparency in projects like agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, improved cookstoves, solar devices, water filters and more. Our systems are designed to maintain integrity and verifiable impact in carbon methodologies.

Beyond climate, Anaxee is India’s Reach Engine- building the nation’s largest last-mile outreach network of 100,000 Digital Runners (shared, tech-enabled field force). We help corporates, agri-focused companies, and social organizations scale to rural and semi-urban India by executing projects in 26 states, 540+ districts, and 11,000+ pin codes, ensuring both scale and 100% transparency in last-mile operations.

Field Workers for Agroforestry Project in India


Ready to collaborate on your next Climate or Carbon project?
Email us at:sales@anaxee.com

Nature-based Solutions | Anaxee’s Tech for Climate Initiatives

Climate change is no longer a distant threat- it’s a lived experience for millions across India, especially in rural regions where agriculture, water, and livelihoods are closely tied to nature. As the world turns to decarbonization and ecosystem restoration, a growing spotlight is on Nature-based Solutions (NbS)- a collective term for actions that work with and enhance natural systems to address environmental, social, and economic challenges. These include tree planting, sustainable agriculture, wetland restoration, clean energy transitions, and much more.

At Anaxee, we see Nature-based Solutions not just as environmental fixes, but as community-driven pathways to climate justice, economic opportunity, and ecosystem balance. With our boots-on-ground presence across 11,000+ pin codes in India, and a network of over 50,000 Digital Runners, we’re making NbS not just scalable-but real, measurable, and human.

What Are Nature-based Solutions, Really?
Field Worker Sapling nursery agroforestry carbon project in India

Nature-based Solutions are exactly what they sound like: actions that use nature to solve some of humanity’s biggest problems. Unlike purely technological fixes, NbS lean into the power of forests, soil, water, biodiversity, and communities. They include planting trees to absorb CO₂, restoring degraded land to improve agriculture, or even protecting mangroves to guard against sea-level rise.

The IUCN defines Nature-based Solutions as “actions to protect, sustainably manage, and restore natural or modified ecosystems that address societal challenges effectively and adaptively.” But for people on the ground, they are a way to protect farms from heatwaves, restore village ponds that dried up, or earn income from carbon credits.

In India, where climate vulnerability intersects with population density, poverty, and ecosystem stress, the importance of Nature-based Solutions can’t be overstated. The challenge is making them work at scale, in diverse geographies- from the Himalayan foothills to dryland Bundelkhand to the coastal belts of Odisha. That’s where Anaxee comes in.

The Need for NbS in India’s Climate Journey

India’s climate commitments- its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement- rely heavily on land-based carbon sinks. The goal to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO₂ equivalent through forest and tree cover by 2030 is unachievable without Nature-based Solutions.

But the opportunity is more than carbon. India has:

– Over 120 million smallholder farmers who depend on climate-sensitive livelihoods.
– 30% of land under degradation or desertification.
– Tens of thousands of rural communities lacking access to sustainable energy.
– Women disproportionately affected by natural resource decline.

Nature-based Solutions, when designed well, can solve for all these: restoring land, generating rural income, empowering women, increasing biodiversity, and reducing emissions.

Anaxee’s Approach to Nature-based Solutions

At Anaxee, our belief is that climate action must go local. Technology and field execution must come together to scale climate projects with integrity and inclusivity. That’s why we’ve built one of India’s largest Tech-for-Climate infrastructures- combining a digital platform for project tracking with human networks that reach the remotest villages.

Our Nature-based Solutions portfolio includes:

Agroforestry Projects

We work with smallholder farmers to integrate trees into their farms- especially on bunds (farm boundaries), where crops are not affected. This creates a triple win: improved biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and diversified farmer income (e.g., from fruit, fodder, or timber trees). Species are selected regionally for their survival rate, carbon value, and local relevance.

Clean Cooking and Improved Cookstoves
Taking the data of Beneficiary while Distributing the Improved Cookstove in Clean Cooking Project in India

Traditional biomass stoves are a major source of indoor pollution and forest degradation. Our clean cooking projects distribute fuel-efficient cookstoves across rural households- improving health, saving time for women, and reducing wood use. These are verifiable Nature-based Solutions with measurable carbon impact.

Bamboo Plantation and Carbon Sinks
Bamboo Cultivation, Carbon Sink

Fast-growing bamboo acts as a powerful carbon sink. In states like Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, we support large-scale bamboo plantation drives with community ownership models. Bamboo also creates rural livelihoods through harvesting, processing, and market linkages.

Solar Energy Deployment in Off-grid Areas
Solar Project on farm

Though not a forest-based intervention, access to decentralized solar power prevents forest overharvesting, reduces kerosene usage, and creates new income avenues like solar-powered agri-processing or lighting for shops. We categorize this under nature-integrated clean technology.

Wetland and Watershed Restoration

Through data collection and community partnerships, we help identify, document, and facilitate the rejuvenation of wetlands, ponds, and community water bodies. These blue NbS projects are essential for climate adaptation in water-stressed belts of India.

Real Projects, Real Impact

We don’t just conceptualize. We implement. Every Anaxee Nature-based Solution is backed by a field team that ensures accuracy, and a digital backend that ensures traceability. From QR-coded saplings to geo-tagged stove installations, from drone mapping to on-ground farmer training- we track every step.

For example, in Bundelkhand, an arid zone prone to extreme droughts, we are planting multi-use trees with farmers under Verra’s VM0047 methodology. This will generate long-term carbon credits while supporting soil moisture retention and fodder supply. In tribal districts of Maharashtra, our clean cookstove program has reached over 5,000 households, leading to 30% reduction in wood usage and significant indoor air quality improvements.

These are not pilot projects- they are blueprints for scaling climate action with rural agency.

Why Verification and Carbon Credits Matter

Nature-based Solutions can only attract climate finance if they are credible and verifiable. That’s why we work with globally recognized registries such as Verra (VCS), Gold Standard, and CCTS India to register our projects under certified methodologies. This enables the issuance of carbon credits, which corporates and climate investors can buy to offset their emissions.

For instance, our agroforestry projects follow VM0047: Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation methodology, ensuring transparent carbon accounting. Clean cooking initiatives use Gold Standard’s Improved Cookstove methodologies. We ensure rigorous monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) with census-level tracking.

Carbon finance from these projects goes back to the communities- either directly, or by enabling more interventions like water, health, or solar access.

Building NbS with Tech + Trust
Tech For Climate, dMRV tool

Scaling Nature-based Solutions in India isn’t just about planting more trees. It’s about:

– Planting the right trees, in the right places.
– Ensuring long-term survival and monitoring.
– Engaging communities not just as beneficiaries, but as stakeholders.
– Using data to build trust and transparency.

That’s what Anaxee does differently. We use our Digital Runners- trained youth from local geographies- to map farms, monitor plantations, verify stove usage, and provide climate training. This creates employment, ownership and accountability at the last mile. Our mobile-based apps ensure all field data is digitized, geo-referenced, and accessible on dashboards for clients, funders, and auditors.

Nature-based Solutions Are the Future- But Only If We Invest in People

India’s climate story cannot be copy-pasted from the West. Our biodiversity, farming systems, caste dynamics, and land rights are unique. That’s why cookie-cutter models of NbS fail. Anaxee invests deeply in contextualization. Our SOPs are built on ground realities- what survives in saline soil? Which stove design works best for tribal kitchens? What motivates farmers to protect saplings for 5 years?

The answer, always, is people. And that’s where we put our energy.

Partner with Anaxee for Nature-based Solutions That Work

– Corporate with a net-zero target,

If you are a:

– CSR head looking to fund climate-resilient livelihoods,
– NGO wanting to implement afforestation or cookstove projects,
– Climate investor searching for high-quality, community-integrated carbon credits…

…Anaxee is your execution partner.

We operate across 26 states, 540+ districts, and have the field strength and digital systems to implement and report at scale. Our Nature-based Solutions are real, traceable, inclusive, and future-ready.

Conclusion: A Natural Solution to a Human Crisis

In a time of planetary crisis, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But nature gives us hope. Every tree planted, every stove distributed, every pond restored is a piece of the solution. Nature-based Solutions are not silver bullets- but they are our strongest levers for bending the emissions curve while uplifting the vulnerable.

At Anaxee, we invite you to be part of this mission- not as spectators, but as collaborators. Let’s make climate action local. Let’s make it work for people and the planet.

Call to Action

Looking to implement a Nature-based Solution in India?
Partner with Anaxee’s team. Let’s schedule a 30 minute demo call!
📩 Reach out at sales@anaxee.com
Together, we can build climate resilience, one village at a time.Tech for Climate for Nature based Carbon Project