Three Chinese cement firms have joined a global initiative to report emissions data.

CNBM, Tianrui and Sinoma are the first Chinese firms to join the World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s (WBCSD) Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI), which gathers output data and works with climate policymakers.

Joining the CSI however does not involve committing to any emission limits, the council said in a statement today.

The three firms annual output of around 200Mt is as much as output across the whole of Europe, the statement added.

The initiative collects data from cement firms representing around 95 per cent of cement output in the US and Europe, but previously had not included figures from companies in China.

Around 55 per cent of India’s output is also collected as part of CSI’s database.

Chinese dominance

China produces around half of the world’s cement, which accounts for around 5 per cent of global manmade CO2 emissions.

“The long term sustainability of our industry on a global basis will be significantly enhanced as Chinese companies join our existing members in signing the CSI charter,” said CSI co-chair Albert Manifold.

The CSI hopes policymakers will be able to use the data it provides to help form a sectoral approach to emissions mitigation as part of a post 2012 global climate deal.

The successor to the Kyoto protocol is expected to consist of emission caps for rich countries.

But sectoral approaches to mitigation are a key part of negotiations on how to get major emerging countries like China and India to rein in their rapid pollution growth.

By Susanna Twidale st@pointcarbon.com