Sources: World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Geneva; CP staff
A new report from WBCSD’s Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) focuses on technology availability and the need to scale up research and development that can help the cement industry mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. In light of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Paris Agreement’s entry into force, CSI effected an in-depth review of its original papers from 2009, when the sector issued the first ever low-carbon technology roadmap in partnership with the International Energy Agency (IEA).
The just-published 2017 technology review presents 52 individual papers on existing technologies for which the latest development and implementation status is reviewed, plus seven additional summary papers describing state-of-the-art and anticipated technological developments that can further enhance carbon dioxide emissions mitigation in cement production. The latter include “New binding materials: Long-term perspective for application in the cement industry;” “Carbon Capture and Use: Long-term perspective for application in the cement industry;” “Increased cement performance by optimized particle size distribution;” “Further reduction of clinker content in cement by use of natural calcined pozzolans;” and, “Cements based on carbonates or on carbonation of calcium silicates.”
Weighing the 2017 technology review against unfolding compliance measures tied to the December 2015 Paris Climate Accord—from which the United States is withdrawing—CSI Managing Director Philippe Fonta observes, “The publication of these revised and new technical papers is a major step in the implementation of commitments made by the cement sector in Paris through the Cement Low Carbon Technology Partnerships initiative[;] it demonstrates that the business is more than ever focused on supporting the implementation of the Paris Agreement.”