CEMBUREAU's Carbon Neutrality Roadmap to reduce CO2 to net zero by 2050

CEMBUREAU's Carbon Neutrality Roadmap (CNR) looks at how the European cement industry can reduce its carbon emissions by 2050, and align with the objectives of the European Green Deal. It demonstrates that reaching net zero emissions along the cement and concrete value chain is achievable by 2050.

Experts from the European cement industry have looked in detail at the role of key technologies in reducing emissions at each stage of the cement and concrete value chain. CO₂ emissions can indeed 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. This will require the deployment of existing and new technologies. These include for instance the use of non-recyclable waste and biomass waste to replace fossil fuels, more energy-efficient kilns, the development of innovative low-clinker cements, the deployment of breakthrough carbon capture and use/storage technologies (CCUS), and optimised concrete mixes and building techniques.

The CNR looks in detail at the role of these technologies in reducing emissions at each stage of the cement and concrete value chain and contains both technical and policy recommendations which will be pivotal in reaching this objective.

It also features a 2030 objective. By this date, CEMBUREAU aspires to be in line with the Paris Agreement's two degrees scenario, by reducing CO₂ emissions by 30 per cent for cement and 40 per cent down the value chain.

Previous roadmaps from CEMBUREAU
The European cement industry has actively worked on reducing emissions for a long time. Since 1990, it has reduced its CO₂ relative emissions by about 15 per cent. CEMBUREAU elaborated a roadmap in 2013 setting an 80 per cent CO₂ reduction target for 2050. The roadmap was complemented in 2018 by the '5˚C approach' that promotes a collaborative approach along the clinker-cement-concrete-construction-carbonation value chain involving all actors to help turn the low carbon vision into reality.

The publication of the European Green Deal and its setting-up of a 2050 carbon neutrality objective are game changers, claims CEMBUREAU, and require an ambitious vision from the cement industry. In December 2019, the CEMBUREAU Board therefore agreed to issue a new roadmap looking at how to reach carbon neutrality down the cement and concrete value chain.

Next steps
CEMBUREAU intends to present and discuss this roadmap with a variety of stakeholders, from policy-makers to the entire construction sector and civil society. The asociation also intends to periodically review the progress made in reducing emissions where monitoring is, in certain cases, already possible. As this is an evolving document, CEMBUREAU will also track progress made in developing policies to support these objectives.