It is worth noting that concrete is not just the most widely used man-made material, but it also happens to be the second most widely used material across, following water. Despite the fact that humans go on to depend heavily on cement as well as concrete, it is important to address the issue of their production, which contributes to 7%–8% of global CO2 emissions. Hence, it is imperative to execute significant changes in the industry so as to ensure its sustainability.
It is mandatory to decarbonize the sector to effectively look into global warming and stay within the increase of 1.5°C from pre-industrial levels. The fact is that one must act quickly because 2050, which happens to be the target year for achieving net-zero emissions across many regions, happens to be only one investment cycle away. This urgency is because of the long lifespan when it comes to capital assets in the industry.
There happen to be many solutions which are available for decarbonizing the cement as well as concrete sectors. Presently, almost 90% of emissions from cement manufacturing happen to be attributed to the production of clinker. These emissions are generated from two sources: the chemical reaction of limestone calcination as well as the burning of fuels so as to achieve the mandated temperature of 1450°C for clinkerization. Clinker happens to be a crucial component in the production of Portland cement and also serves as a binder across numerous cement products, which are thereafter used as the main component when it comes to concrete mixes. Reducing emissions from these procedures related to clinker will mandate the adoption of deep decarbonization technologies.
In the last year, 7 companies have gone on to become members of the First Movers Coalition- FMC in the cement as well as concrete sectors. The FMC happens to be a coalition of companies that come together to pool their purchasing power. Their objective is to showcase the demand in terms of near-zero technologies across 7 sectors that are indeed challenging so as to reduce emissions. Those companies have gone on to commit to buying 10% of their cement as well as concrete per year as near zero by 2030. The FMC cement and concrete members go on to represent almost $60 million in terms of demand and happen to have the capacity to lessen greenhouse gas emissions by 100,000 tons.
What actions is the World Economic Forum taking to address climate change?
Climate change is indeed a very pressing issue that mandates immediate as well as decisive action. Communities across the globe are currently going through escalating impacts when it comes to climate change, such as but not limited to droughts, floods, and, of course, rising sea levels. The environmental threats that have found a place in the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report regularly maintain their position at the top of the list.
To effectively limit the elevated global temperatures to less than 2°C, and ideally to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, it is indeed important for businesses, policymakers, as well as civil society to actively look into complete climate steps in both the short as well as long term. These actions should sync with the objectives that have been outlined in the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The Climate Initiative of the World Economic Forum looks to promote as well as expedite worldwide climate action by fostering partnerships between the public and private sectors. The Initiative partners across many workstreams so as to create and also implement inclusive and ambitious solutions.
This is in reference to the alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, which is a global network of business leaders coming from diverse industries. They go on to create cost-effective solutions for shifting to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. CEOs go on to leverage their authority as well as their power to work with policymakers and corporate partners to expedite the shift towards a safer climate and also reap the economic advantages that come along with it.
It is well to be noted that the use of SCM is not restricted solely to cement suppliers.
By taking into account an efficient mix design, companies can significantly reduce the cement content when it comes to concrete without even compromising the quality of the final product. This methodology greatly helps to the improvement of the carbon footprint associated with the use of the cement.
Looking Ahead
In an industry that happens to play a big role in worldwide CO2 emissions, there are many ongoing decarbonization activities taking effect. In order to further decarbonize the sector, researchers happen to be developing new alternative chemistries in terms of cement production, which include methods such as avoiding the use of kilns so as to create clinker or obtaining lime from the calcium silicate rocks and not limestone. These approaches effectively help in eradicating the CO2 emissions that go on to occur during the processing of limestone without even compromising the quality of the final cement product. Efforts are currently underway in order to develop as well as expand the use of electric or hydrogen-based kilns.
There happen to be many challenges that need to be looked into in order to successfully execute these technologies on a large scale. Firstly, scaling these technologies to meet the desired demand happens to be a major challenge. Additionally, it is also important to convince stakeholders that decarbonized solutions are of high quality and can effectively meet their standards. Finally, there is indeed a need for the development and regular updating of Environmental Product Declarations- EPDs and Product Category Rules- PCRs to offer guidance for the usage of new technologies in decarbonizing cement as well as concrete. But both in the short term as well as in the long term, significant progress can be achieved when it comes to decarbonization by implementing certain solutions, such as adopting efficient architecture as well as design practices, and also reducing the industry’s reliance on fossil fuels by way of fuel switching.
