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Glite Dictionary
🌱 To cut emissions 🧹 To remove carbon
to decarbonize

to decarbonize

1 7.2
Reduce the carbon dioxide a city, company, or country releases
  • verb
  • /diːˈkɑːrbənaɪz/
  • Specialized
translation icon : descarbonizar
  • Countries around the world must decarbonize their energy systems to mitigate climate change.
  • decarbonize the economy
  • decarbonize electricity generation
  • decarbonize electricity

So we've seen it's possible to decarbonise even large economies without sacrificing prosperity.

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Examples

  • And we need to, you know, decarbonize in the long term and through gradual policy mechanisms like a carbon price.

  • Overall, the world is generally decarbonizing by switching to cleaner and more efficient gas, which is probably good for global warming and many other energy-related environmental issues.

    Academic text (1994)

  • So we really need to look at the long term ways of decarbonize our campus.

  • So essentially, you know, in theory, it's a good thing to decarbonize the world, correct?

  • We have to decarbonise those uses of energy through various different means.

    UK Parliament

  • So we've seen it's possible to decarbonise even large economies without sacrificing prosperity.

    Sabine Hossenfelder

  • To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, businesses will need to decarbonize their operations significantly.

  • Governments are implementing policies that encourage industries to decarbonize and invest in renewable energy sources.

Surface Forms

decarbonize infinitive
decarbonized past
decarbonized past participle
decarbonizing present participle
decarbonizes third person singular

Morphology

decarbonize = carbonize (semi-transparent) = de + carbon + ize

The prefix suggests removing carbon, but this climate-policy sense extends to reducing greenhouse-gas emissions across systems rather than literally stripping away elemental carbon.

Etymology

Decarbonize also uses de- meaning 'remove' and carbon, the same root in 'carbon dioxide' and 'charcoal', so a helpful image is cleaning the black soot out of a city or industry. That's why to decarbonize a system means to cut or remove carbon emissions and make it cleaner for the climate.