Meaning & use
carbon emission
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable or uncountabletechnical
Carbon dioxide or similar carbon-containing gas released into the air, especially from burning fuels, and a cause of climate change.
Grammar: Often plural: carbon emissions; uncountable as 'carbon emission' in general.
Patterns
- reduce carbon emissions
- carbon emissions from something
Cars and planes produce large carbon emissions.
The city plans to cut carbon emissions by half in ten years.
Switching to solar power lowered the company's carbon emission.
nouncountable or uncountable
The amount of such gases produced by a person, product or organization, used as a measure of environmental impact.
Grammar: Often used with 'per': carbon emission per person.
Patterns
- carbon emission per something
Flying has a higher carbon emission per kilometer than going by train.
Our school measures the carbon emission of each classroom.
Each product label shows its carbon emission.
Word forms
| plural | carbon emissions |
|---|
Common combinations
- reduce carbon emissions
- Governments pledged to reduce carbon emissions.
- cut carbon emissions
- Wind farms help cut carbon emissions.
- high carbon emissions
- Coal power has high carbon emissions.
- carbon emissions target
- The country missed its carbon emissions target.
- offset carbon emissions
- Some travelers pay to offset carbon emissions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- greenhouse gas emissions
- Is a broader term covering methane and other gases, not just carbon.
- carbon footprint
- Measures total emissions linked to a person or activity, rather than the gas itself.
- CO2 emissions
- Is more precise and technical, naming carbon dioxide directly.
- pollution
- Is much wider and may involve any harmful substance.
Opposites
Word family
- carbon-free adjective
- Producing no carbon emissions.
- decarbonize verb
- To reduce carbon emissions.
- emit verb
- To release gas or light.
Commonly confused: carbon emission or carbon footprint?
carbon emission vs carbon footprint
Is the total impact of a person or group, not the emission itself.
Practice
The city introduced electric buses to reduce its ____.
Choose one answer.
Electric buses cut the gases released by fuel burning; the other options are unrelated carbon phrases.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “carbon emission”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.