New roadmap sets vision for a carbon neutral cement-concrete value chain by 2050

Cembureau, the European Cement Association, has published its new Carbon Neutrality Roadmap, setting out its ambition to reach net zero emissions along the cement and concrete value chain by 2050.
“As Europe begins its green recovery, the significance of this moment for our sector is huge. This is our response to the EU Green Deal – we have a plan and are ready to make the leap.” said Raoul de Parisot, President of Cembureau.
Cembureau’s Carbon Neutrality Roadmap looks at how CO₂ emissions can be reduced by acting at each stage of the value chain – clinker, cement, concrete, construction and (re)carbonation – to achieve zero net emissions by 2050. It quantifies the role of each technology in providing CO₂ emissions savings, making concrete political and technical recommendations to support this objective.
To get there, the sector will need decisive political action from the EU in some key areas, including:
– The development of a pan-European CO₂ transportation and storage network
– Decisive action on circular economy to support the use of non-recyclable waste and biomass waste in cement production
– Ambitious policies to reduce European building’s CO₂ footprint, based on a life-cycle approach, that incentivise the market uptake of low-carbon cements
– A level playing field on carbon, regulatory certainty and an ambitious industrial transformation agenda
 
By 2030, Cembureau aspires to be in line with the Paris Agreement’s two degrees scenario, reducing CO₂ emissions by 30% for cement and 40% down the value chain.
Koen Coppenholle, Chief Executive of Cembureau, said: “Cement and concrete are already enablers of a European Green Deal, through the building of sustainable energy and transport infrastructure.
Carbon neutrality along our full value-chain will be a massive effort, but we are confident we can achieve it. Our sector has made significant progress and, with the right tools and support from the EU, we can go much further.”

www.cembureau.eu