decarbonize

verb

de·​car·​bon·​ize (ˌ)dē-ˈkär-bə-ˌnīz 

decarbonized; decarbonizing; decarbonizes

transitive verb

1

: to remove carbon from (something)

It's usually not necessary to dismantle the engine to decarbonize it anymore.

—Allen D. Berrien

2

: to reduce the levels of carbon emissions (such as carbon dioxide) caused by or involved in (something, such as a facility, process, or organization)

… we must decarbonize the energy supply by developing forms of power that emit less greenhouse gas or none at all.

—Daniel Ben-Ami

[Steve] Cohen is confident that we will be able to decarbonize our economy in time to avoid catastrophic climate impacts.

—Renee Cho

intransitive verb

: to reduce the production of carbon emissions

Certainly, people at Airbus say they need to decarbonize, and research on battery technology for electric planes has been disappointing.

—Ned Potter

decarbonizer noun

Examples of decarbonize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Fuel debate Five renewable developers and solar energy firms interviewed by Reuters counter that the industry’s use of farmland is too small to impact domestic food production overall and should be balanced with the need to decarbonize the U.S. energy market in the face of climate change. —P.j. Huffstutter and Christopher Walljasper, The Christian Science Monitor, 30 Apr. 2024

Getting more drivers into electric vehicles is a key part of the state’s ambitious plan to decarbonize its enormous economy by 2045, starting with a goal to cut greenhouse gas pollution by 48% below 1990 levels by 2030. —Ari Plachta, Sacramento Bee, 1 Apr. 2024

To decarbonize the electrical grid, companies are finding creative ways to store energy during periods of low demand in carbon dioxide storage balloons. —Delger Erdenesanaa, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024

The industrial sector is responsible for roughly 25% of all the nation’s emissions, and has proven difficult to decarbonize due to its energy-intense, large-scale operations. —Isabella O'Malley, Fortune, 25 Mar. 2024

These are all materials vital to building out the infrastructure needed to decarbonize the US economy. —Justine Calma, The Verge, 25 Mar. 2024

And that would be direct emissions, decarbonizing your electricity production, and then looking at your supply chain and looking into those high-impact materials. —IEEE Spectrum, 9 Feb. 2024

Back then, Germany was a global leader in manufacturing solar cells as part of an early effort to decarbonize their coal-heavy power grid. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 12 Apr. 2024

In addition, Boeing’s leadership must begin to look ahead, to speak publicly about building the next all-new jet and advancing technology to decarbonize aviation. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1