WCA CEO will call for government action to cut CO2 emissions at COP26

Urgent action in three key areas could save around 900Mta of CO₂ annually by 2030, says Ian Riley, World Cement Association CEO.

Ian Riley will speak at the Sustainable Innovation Forum (SIF), part of COP26, to outline three key actions governments around the world can take right now that will significantly accelerate the cement and concrete industry’s progress towards net zero and beyond. Riley will tell delegates at COP26 that not only is a net-zero cement industry achievable, new technologies for carbon-negative concrete are emerging that can remove CO₂ that is already in the atmosphere. 

However, governments around the world need to take action in three key areas, to encourage faster adoption of low-carbon technologies:
• Promote a market for low-carbon concrete by encouraging its use in publicly-funded building projects
• Review and update product standards to allow low-carbon concrete to be used in a wider range of applications
• Create the right market incentives for developing and using low-carbon cement and concrete technologies, via carbon pricing, subsidies or other economic mechanisms.

If governments around the world respond to the WCA’s call and take action now, annual emissions of CO₂ from cement and concrete could be reduced by 30 per cent, or 900Mt per year, by 2030. 

“The pathways to net zero will be different for every cement plant. However, there are a few key measures which governments can adopt that will have a rapid and lasting impact on the pace of global uptake of all these measures,” explains Ian Riley. 

“These measures can be implemented at low cost and will stimulate innovation and rapid scaling of new technologies. For governments looking for effective measures they can take today that will help deliver major and lasting emissions reductions in the next decade, the cement and concrete industry is a great place to start,” he added.