Skip to main content

CEMBUREAU on COP21

Published by , Digital Assistant Editor
World Cement,


From 30 November until 11 December, countries from all over the world will be in Paris to discuss a new binding international climate change agreement aiming at limiting global warming below 2°C. In order to tackle climate change, costs for such adaptation are estimated at €140 billion per year by 2030 and €470 billionn per year by 2050.

CEMBUREAU is closely monitoring the COP 21 negotiations as climate policy is relevant both for the cement manufacturing process as for the use of the downstream product, concrete. As COP 21 delineates its 2050 Low Carbon Roadmap, the cement industry is fully in line with the goal to keep temperature rise below 2°C.

CEMBUREAU calls for a legally binding international climate change agreement that provides a long term, stable and reliable environment to encourage investments and support plans to reduce CO2 emissions further and to adapt to climate change. Therefore, CEMBUREAU believes that the agreement should include:

  • An international level playing field for industries through:
    • Covering the major emitting jurisdictions (80% of global cement production) and certainly the US, India and China (the EU represents 3.8% of global cement production whereas China represents 56.5%).
    • Ensuring a comparability of pledges in terms of?(i) scope of each jurisdiction’s pledge and especially the inclusion of the power sector, transport, households and potential CO2 and energy-efficiency benefits from the use of downstream products;?(ii) the reduction target and reference year;?(iii) coverage of both CO2 and energy efficiency ?(iv) coverage of CO2 from combustion and processes.
    • Foreseeing in comparable monitoring and accounting rules.
  • If the comparison shows an uneven playing field for a specific jurisdiction or sector, appropriate measures need to be foreseen to ensure global competitiveness.
  • Appropriate attention needs to be given to the role of downstream products of energy-intensive sectors, such as concrete for the cement sector, in reducing CO2 emissions, increasing energy efficiency and responding into climate change adaptation.

The cement industry is looking for new ways for cement and concrete to contribute to a European low carbon and circular economy.CEMBUREAU believes it will be possible for the sector’s cement carbon footprint could be reduced by 32% compared with 1990 levels, using mostly conventional means. In the company’s its low carbon Roadmap, CEMBUREAU also describes potential levers for how this could be further increased by the application of emerging new technologies, such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) or re-use (CCU). Presently, the cement industry in Europe is a world leader in substituting 38.7%1 of fossil fuels used in cement kilns with alternative fuels and aims to achieve a 60% alternative fuel use by 2050.2 Subject to specified policies and technological prerequisites, a potential reduction of up to 80% may be envisaged.

  1. This includes biomass.
  2. See The role of cement in the 2050 low carbon economy.
Edited from press release by

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/01122015/cembureau-position-on-cop21-1714/

You might also like

 
 

Embed article link: (copy the HTML code below):