The World Cement Association (WCA) is urging the global cement industry to increase efforts to adopt new technologies faster and put greater focus on innovation in order to make crucial progress on reducing CO2 emissions.
This was the key message from last week’s WCA Global Climate Change Forum that was held in Paris. Attendees were told that current technology being deployed by the sector worldwide can only deliver 50 percent of the CO2 savings required to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of keeping the global temperature rise well below two degrees. CO2 emission mitigation technologies are typically adopted too slowly, resulting in only a gradual decrease in carbon emissions associated with production processes and product end uses.
“The Global Climate Change Forum made clear the importance of stimulating innovation if we are to have any hope of achieving the Paris climate goals,” said Bernard Mathieu, director of the WCA Climate Change Program. “What has been very positive is to see the enthusiasm among our members for sharing knowledge and best practice, and we will continue to focus on being a platform for change, delivering concrete action against the climate challenges of today and tomorrow.”
Based on the results of the conference, the WCA will develop a Climate Change Action Plan, which will be published in September. The focus will be on clear and tangible actions for transition toward low-carbon production and will also identify successful approaches to contribute to a carbon-neutral built environment.
“Since inception the World Cement Association has championed greater collaboration and higher standards across the sector globally,” said Emir Adiguzel, chairman of WCA. “There are few areas where this is more important than tackling climate change, and we are proud to be stepping forward to lead our industry toward a more sustainable future.”
