Reducing greenhouse gas (or GHG) emissions is essential to address climate change and ensure an increasingly sustainable future. In this text, you will learn more about what decarbonization is and how it can transform the economy, the environment, and the way we live.

What is decarbonization?

Decarbonization is a global movement that emerges as a response to global warming and climate change. In practice, it is a combination of actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide (CO₂). Thus, decarbonization is mainly expressed in practices that combine innovation and sustainability to enable increasingly efficient, renewable and less polluting products and energy sources.

The emergence of the term is directly related to Paris Agreement — international treaty signed in 2015 during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21). This global commitment sets the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit the increase in global temperature to 1.5 °C compared to pre-industrial levels. The number was defined based on scientific studies that indicate that, when exceeding this limit, the planet may face irreversible damage.

Currently, according to the report of World Meteorological Organization 2024, the global temperature is estimated to have risen between 1.3 °C and 1.4 °C since the second half of the 19th century, a warning that reinforces the urgency to accelerate decarbonization efforts.

Why is decarbonization important?

Excessive tiredness on days of extreme heat. Losses caused by heavy rains and floods. Increase in the price of food, such as coffee, after long periods of drought. Even the risk of chocolate disappearing in the coming years, due to the cocoa crisis. What do all of these issues have in common? These are the visible effects of climate change that already impact our daily lives.

In the long term, the consequences are even more serious. The imbalance of ecosystems, the loss of biodiversity, and the forced displacement of populations fleeing climatic events (such as droughts or floods) are some of the challenges that tend to become increasingly frequent. The impacts also extend to human health, such as the emergence and spread of infectious diseases and a higher risk of death, as exemplified by World Health Organization (WHO).

Read more: What is global warming?

These consequences are not new, but since the Industrial Revolution, they have been aggravated by the intensive use of fossil fuels, illegal deforestation, polluting productive activities, and unrestrained consumption patterns. This is where decarbonization comes into play, with the objective of reducing GHG emissions, curbing global warming, protecting ecosystems, ensuring food security, health, and quality of life for populations.

Main strategies for decarbonization

Boosting decarbonization is a collective goal. People, governments, and companies need to engage to promote changes in the way we produce, consume, and relate to the environment. Find out what each of these parts can do below.

Governments

Governments play a central role in creating policies, incentives, and regulatory structures that drive the transition to a low-carbon economy.

In Brazil, this commitment has been strengthened with recent measures, such as the approval of Regulated Carbon Market Act (Law No. 15.042/2024), considered a milestone because it encourages sustainable practices to control carbon emissions. And the Future Fuel Law (Law No. 14,993/2024) which encourages the promotion of sustainable low-carbon mobility and aims to consolidate the country as a leader in the global energy transition.

“Brazil starts from an advantageous position compared to other nations, especially due to the high share of renewable sources in its energy and electricity matrix, a characteristic that differentiates it, for example, from regions such as Europe and part of Asia”, points out Guilherme Conor Coraiola, specialist in Sustainability and ESG and coordinator of Climate Change at Suzano. “The country has great potential in the production of biofuels, including biomethane, which appears as a proven viable alternative to fossil fuels,” he adds.

Despite the advances, there are still structural challenges to be overcome. The expansion of new technologies and more sustainable fuels depends on regulations and public investments to reach the population at affordable costs. Therefore, strengthening policies to encourage the production and consumption of clean energy is identified as an essential step to consolidate the decarbonization process.

People

Individual engagement in small everyday choices can also generate big results in reducing emissions. Here are some tips for contributing to the future of the planet:

Practicing conscious consumption

“It is important to seek as much as possible a circular economy within our homes, with conscious consumption practices and selective collection. These are ways to boost the reuse of materials and thus reduce the need to remove more resources from nature for the production of new products”, suggests Guilherme.

Purchasing clothes at thrift stores, using recyclable or returnable packaging, or paper, and repackaging materials that would go to waste, maintain them, or transform them into new objects are some of the examples of conscious consumption that can be practiced in your daily life.

Choosing fuels from renewable sources

“When filling up the car, choosing ethanol instead of gasoline is a simple change of habit, but it directly contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases,” explains Rafael Favery, Sustainability Project Manager at AFRY Brasil, an engineering and consulting firm specialized in energy transition. To get an idea of the positive impact of this action, data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) show that sugarcane ethanol emits, on average, 89% fewer gases that cause the study effect than gasoline.

Read more: What is conscious consumption?

Encourage others to take care of the planet

The small sustainable choices that you put into practice in your daily life can have a great positive impact for the decarbonization of the planet. But according to a research conducted by DataFolha, 51% of Brazilians say they don't know what to do to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

In this context, sharing what you've learned about sustainability and motivating family and friends to adopt more conscious practices is an excellent way to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. To further strengthen this movement, you can use your social networks to promote content, projects, and initiatives on environmental education, conscious consumption, sustainable products, climate change, biodiversity, and recycling. By sharing knowledge, you multiply the positive impact that individual actions can generate in building a low-carbon economy.

No Suzano's blog, you can find publications on all these topics to further deepen your knowledge about sustainable development trends.

Decarbonization and the role of companies

Companies play a central role in decarbonization and in the fight against climate change, mainly because they represent a significant part of greenhouse gas emissions. According to data from The Carbon Majors Database, a report used to monitor and disseminate information about the environment globally, 100 companies are responsible for 71% of GHG emissions.

In addition to the impacts generated, companies also have the resources, technology, and innovation capacity necessary to transform the way the economy works. “Not by chance, in partnership with government agencies, large private sector companies have already led this transformation, setting fossil decarbonization goals and seeking to engage their customers and suppliers,” says Rafael.

Na Suzano, a pulp and paper company, for example, decarbonization is among the strategic priorities, in an approach that combines the reduction of emissions and the maximization of removals. In your Climate Transition Action Plan, Suzano details reduction actions such as the gasification of cellulose biomass at the Ribas do Rio Pardo (MS) plant, which results in a 97% reduction in emissions from part of the production process compared to a plant that consumes fossil fuels.

What are the benefits of decarbonization?

In our daily lives, decarbonization has the potential to generate visible benefits, such as reducing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. “This means living with a higher quality of life and well-being, so that current and future generations are less exposed to the risks of natural disasters,” explains Rafael.

For companies, reducing greenhouse gas emissions is also essential. The international organization Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) estimates that the losses caused by climate change for large companies can reach US$ 1 trillion, represented by loss of inventories, difficulty in accessing raw materials, reduced production due to a lack of energy, and other consequences.

In this scenario, more than an immediate need, decarbonization also represents the possibility of boosting countries' economic development, promoting the transition to the bioeconomy, a low-carbon economy based on the union of sustainability, innovation and science in production processes. “This is not just an obligation, but an opportunity to promote a just and sustainable transition, capable of generating new jobs, stimulating innovation, increasing competitiveness, and valuing ecosystems and natural resources. In this context, bioeconomy plays an even more strategic role for Brazil, which has unique advantages such as its rich biodiversity, abundance of natural resources and strong forest base,” Rafael points out.

Read more: What is Bioeconomy and what can we do to promote it

Conclusion: decarbonization is a collective and urgent process

Decarbonization is a necessary and possible movement. It is a collective process, which requires environmental studies, technical and financial analyses, clear goals and, above all, the continuous commitment of individuals, governments and companies to drastically reduce our emissions, rethink habits and overcome dependence on fossil fuels.

More than seeking a single solution, it must be recognized that the construction of a low carbon future depends on multiple strategies and collaboration between different sectors. This is an essential step in the face of climate change already under way, as we urgently need to rethink the way in which we produce, consume, and relate to the planet.

Decarbonization, therefore, represents a new way of understanding economic development, combining responsibility, innovation and sustainability in building a more balanced and resilient future.

‍