Towards a low-carbon post OPC era – external framing conditions
![1 Total building sector CO2-emissions [5]](https://www.zkg.de/imgs/1/4/8/1/5/0/5/Process_Achternbosch_CO2_Figure_1-7753cf3a8076af50.jpeg)
![2 Change of global surface temperature [21]](https://www.zkg.de/imgs/1/4/8/1/5/0/5/Process_Achternbosch_CO2_Figure_2-64e27442d1029f4f.jpeg)
![3 The historical global carbon budget 1900-2017 [23]](https://www.zkg.de/imgs/1/4/8/1/5/0/5/Process_Achternbosch_CO2_Figure_3-487266fa19c0e75d.jpeg)
![4 Free allowances related to cement from clinker production [25]](https://www.zkg.de/imgs/1/4/8/1/5/0/5/Process_Achternbosch_CO2_Figure_4_links-310471a31e3725d4.jpeg)
![5 Development of the CO2 European allowances price between 2015 and spring 2019 [28]](https://www.zkg.de/imgs/1/4/8/1/5/0/5/Process_Achternbosch_CO2_Figure_5-b1c9e49698ed5284.jpeg)
![6 Development of global CO2-emissions by using fossil fuels plus cement process-emissions (left axis) and cement process (right axis) in the period 1990 to 2015. Sources: Global Carbon Project (GCP), PBL Netherlands Environment Assessment Agency (PBL), Andrews [32, 33, 34, 35]](https://www.zkg.de/imgs/1/4/8/1/5/0/5/Process_Achternbosch_CO2_Figure_6-790916769e58a794.jpeg)
![7 Development of process-emissions within the EU from 1990 to 2015 [39]](https://www.zkg.de/imgs/1/4/8/1/5/0/5/Process_Achternbosch_CO2_Figure_7-35281c74d1fd3a03.jpeg)
To avoid major damage caused by climate change, great efforts are needed to mitigate further greenhouse gas emissions or even remove those gases from the atmosphere. For the cement industry this means that as long as no sophisticated solutions exist as alternative to universal OPC in the mid-term, negative emissions technologies (NETs) become more and more important.
1 Introduction
The way we use resources fundamentally affects the state of the environment and economy, and the well-being of humanity. The global metabolism is extremely material-intensive. With the quantity of the materials used their influence on the environment increases. The impact ranges from the extraction of the basic materials to the waste arising. Emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases and other hazardous pollutants are to be taken into account. The construction industry is one of the largest economic and most material-intensive sectors. The annual global construction volume...
