"SINGAPORE - Innovation and policy changes are urgently required to tackle climate-warming emissions from the cement sector, with an infrastructure boom in developing countries set to drive up production for decades, a research group said on Thursday.

Cement is considered a "hard to abate" sector, generating huge volumes of carbon dioxide not only from the coal used to heat kilns, but also during the conversion of limestone into clinker, a key part of the production process.

If the cement industry were a country, it would be the fourth biggest source of CO2 behind China, the United States and India, but there are still no mature and cost-competitive solutions for decarbonising production, said the Rhodium Group, a U.S.-based think tank.

The sector is responsible for around 6% of global CO2, and while emissions could peak this decade as demand from China and elsewhere falls, there is still a risk of further increases of up to 17% by 2050 as emerging countries embark on a building spree, the group said."

David Stanway reports for Reuters March 21, 2024. [2]