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

This reflects the crux of the fashion industry's problem: while manufacturing is the most emissions-heavy part of apparel production, brands hold the capital needed to actually decarbonize it. —Lewis Perkins, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Aug. 2025

Fuso is already working on this—decarbonizing powertrains for on-road transportation. —Sarwant Singh, Forbes.com, 31 July 2025

Companies investing in decarbonizing their supply chains now face uncertainty around future production costs and sourcing locations. —Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 8 June 2025

The group focuses specifically on transition finance, the branch of sustainable finance where money is invested not only to build clean technologies but also to decarbonize big sources of emissions. —Justin Worland, Time, 5 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary

First Known Use

1821, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for decarbonize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize