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

For years, the organization has been drumming on about the roughly $1 trillion investment needed to fully decarbonize the apparel and footwear supply chain by 2050, with a midway target of halving emissions by 2030. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 19 Feb. 2026

This finding helped formed the basis of subsequent fuel-efficiency targets, EV incentives and a host of other federal and state policies and programs meant to decarbonize transportation. —Robert Ferris, CNBC, 12 Feb. 2026

While the environmental wing claims efforts have not gone far enough, for example, there are also those arguing that countries can’t be forced to decarbonize their economies. —Andrew Jones, Space.com, 9 Feb. 2026

Michigan is getting ready to explore for geologic hydrogen as a new alternative energy form to decarbonize maritime shipping, manufacturing and heavy-duty transportation. —Noël Fletcher, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026

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