carbon capture

noun

plural carbon captures

1

: any of various methods of removing carbon dioxide (as from industrial emissions) to reduce its presence in the atmosphere

Carbon capture can be applied to large-scale emissions processes, including coal and gas-fired power generation …

—Global CCS Institute

Direct ocean carbon capture operations look a bit like desalination or wastewater treatment plants, though something quite different is going on inside their systems of filters, tubes, pumps and tanks.

—Brooke Staggs

Aramco has developed an innovative mobile carbon capture system that sharply reduces CO₂ emissions from a heavy-duty truck.

—Oil and Gas Climate Initiative

also : such a method combined with storing the carbon dioxide to keep it from entering the atmosphere : carbon capture and storage

Those bent on bringing down the fossil-fuel industry are also less than thrilled with the … push for technologies such as carbon capture, which removes and stores carbon emissions …

—Valerie Richardson

2

: the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by living vegetation : carbon sequestration

Plants perform carbon capture every day through photosynthesis, and they actually do so quite well.

—Patrick Biller

Trees are nature's best carbon capture technology and have been working to clean the air since the first leafy frond appeared on Earth …

—Georgette Kilgore

Examples of carbon capture in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Swiss carbon capture firm Climeworks has booked itself for nearly four times the number of events this year compared with last year, after the company in February raised $162 million toward improving its technology and growing the company, Co-Chief Executive Christoph Gebald said. —Simon Jessop, Reuters, 21 Sep. 2025

In essence, green steel will flow from a mix of recycling (EAF with scrap) and greener virgin iron routes (H₂-DRI/EAF, or DRI with carbon capture at source, or CCS). —Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025

Others, such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron, have concentrated on oil and gas but announced recent investments in carbon capture projects, as well as in lithium and graphite production for electric vehicle batteries. —Michael Oxman, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2025

Concurrently, competitors like Exxon and Chevron are targeting high-margin oil while selectively investing in carbon capture, hydrogen, and biofuels—striking a balance between returns and the energy transition. —Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1971, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for carbon capture

• rapture
• recapture