IEA's April report contained a low-carbon technology road map, aimed at reducing cement industry emissions 24 percent by 2050. The problem has drawn the attention of major international organizations in recent years, some of which are now advising the industry on ways to cut carbon. Tackling cement, it noted, doesn't have a single solution-it will require a variety of approaches, including major changes in both the materials used and the manufacturing process itself. A commentary published last month in Science evaluated a variety of "difficult-to-decarbonize" services and processes. The specific formula used for cement, and the fact that it's remained unchanged for so long, makes the industry an unusually challenging one when it comes to climate action. But it also causes the limestone to chemically decompose, leaving behind a compound called calcium oxide, which is used in the final cement product, releasing carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. The intense heating process in and of itself, she noted, requires a massive amount of fuel. To produce the sticky, binding cement, the limestone must be heated at high temperatures-around 1,500 C, according to civil and environmental engineering expert Claire White of Princeton University. Portland cement is produced in large part with limestone, a type of rock that's composed mainly of a chemical compound called calcium carbonate. But more than half of its emissions-and perhaps as much as two-thirds, by some estimates-actually come from the chemical production process itself, which releases large amounts of carbon dioxide as a byproduct.
The industry's huge carbon footprint partly stems from its high fuel requirements, which are mostly satisfied by fossil fuels. That's a big problem for the climate, because the process releases large amounts of carbon dioxide.
"There have been improvements in process efficiencies, but broadly speaking it's not that different," he told E&E News. In the years since, little has changed about the production process, according to Gaurav Sant, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at UCLA. Portland cement-the most widely used type of cement around the world, and the product specified in many modern construction codes-was patented nearly 200 years ago and has become an essential component of the built environment. Reaching this goal, the report suggests, "implies significantly greater efforts to reduce emissions from cement makers." The race for solutions And some experts suggest that unless the industry substantially reduces its emissions, it could put the Paris Agreement's global climate targets in jeopardy.Īn April report from IEA and the industry-led Cement Sustainability Initiative notes that the industry, in its current form, is inconsistent with trajectories that would allow the world to meet a 2-degree Celsius temperature target. As global population grows, some estimates suggest cement production could increase by as much as 23 percent by 2050. It's a problem that often receives little attention among the public. That makes it the second-largest single industrial emitter in the world, second only to the iron and steel industry. It single-handedly accounts for about 7 percent of all global carbon emissions, according to estimates from the International Energy Agency. While industries of all kinds are exploring ways to reduce their carbon footprints, the cement industry-unglamorous as it may sound-is among the most significant to join the discussion.Ĭement is the most widely used man-made material in existence-it forms concrete when mixed with water, and is used in the construction of everything from buildings and bridges to roads and sidewalks and all kinds of other infrastructure.īut while cement has largely shaped the modern built environment, it's also a massive source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. "The Global Climate Change Forum made clear the importance of stimulating innovation if we are to have any hope of achieving the Paris climate goals," Bernard Mathieu, director of the WCA's climate change program, said in a statement.
It will help inform the development of a climate action plan, which the WCA intends to release in September, aimed at outlining pathways for low-carbon cement production. The World Cement Association recently held its first-ever global climate change forum, where industry leaders and scientists discussed strategies to reduce the industry's carbon footprint. One of the world's biggest industries-and a leading producer of greenhouse gas emissions-may finally be making moves to combat climate change.