I’m not sure of whether this is grammatically correct, although I've encountered the same expression many times before.
Most Google searches show it produces 35 times less carbon than the report suggested.
Does 35 times less have a precise meaning in this context, or is it ambiguous here? Does either of these two possibities apply?
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the original amount minus 35 times the original amount (35 times less than 100 units would be −3400 units)
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¹⁄₃₅ of the original amount (35 times less than 100 units would be 2 ⁶⁄₇ units)
Best Answer
There is nothing wrong with the grammar of the statement, but it does leave what actual amount is meant open to interpretation, and therefore it drifts toward meaninglessness.
The first question is "35 times less than what?" If the report suggested that the carbon produced was 35 grams, should we infer that the search produced 1 gram? If so, why not phrase it as "1/35th as much carbon as the report suggested"? That is certainly clearer.
Obviously, times is a multiplier, not a divisor, so it will never be used comfortably in the latter capacity. Even when talking about discounts, a 35% discount is 35 times greater than a 1% discount.
This little ambiguity is present in all the expressions of reduction: slower, shorter, smaller, and so on. It is far better to say something is half as fast than twice as slow.