ClimateAugust 27, 2026
decarbonized
dee-KAR-buh-nyzd
Definition
To have removed or reduced carbon-based energy sources—specifically fossil fuels—from an industrial process, an economy, or an infrastructure system.
Etymology
Formed from the prefix 'de-' (meaning off or away) and 'carbon' (from the Latin 'carbo', meaning coal or charcoal), followed by the suffix '-ize' to denote a process of change.
In the news
The article uses this term to describe how European nations achieved some military emission reductions not through direct military reform, but by transitioning their entire national electrical grids away from fossil fuels.
The US military’s fatal stance on climate change
Read the full article ↗Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists