carbon neutral

adjective

1. pertaining to or having achieved a state in which the net amount of carbon dioxide or other carbon compounds emitted into the atmosphere is reduced to zero because it is balanced by actions to reduce or offset these emissions:

   Since the administration installed solar panels, the campus has become carbon neutral;

   a carbon-neutral brewery.

Other Words From

• carbon neutrality noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of carbon neutral¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

California policymakers have outlined a plan for the state to be carbon neutral by 2045 and ban the sale of new, gas-powered cars by 2035.

From Los Angeles Times

"Accelerated energy demand transformation can reduce costs for staying below 2º C but have only a limited impact on further increasing the likelihood of limiting warming to 1.6° C," the authors wrote, referring to an eventual transition to carbon neutral energy technologies.

From Salon

In practice, sustainable fuels are not carbon neutral, because of the energy used in producing, refining and transporting them.

From BBC

That’s a problem for California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched a massive effort to make the state carbon neutral by 2045, requiring far more reliance on wind, solar and other renewable forms of energy.

From Los Angeles Times

"Accelerated energy demand transformation can reduce costs for staying below 2º C but have only a limited impact on further increasing the likelihood of limiting warming to 1.6 °C," the authors write, alluding to the need to transition to carbon neutral energy technologies.

From Salon