The cement sector promotes measures against the climatic emergency while the market remains atony and exports fall drastically

Despite the clearly negative market context, the Catalan cement industry has launched an ambitious plan of measures to fight against the climatic emergency with a final horizon of 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for the year 2050 compared to the 1990s. This program of actions occurs at a time when the domestic market shows great atony (with a growth of only 5% in November 2019 compared to the same month last year) and with a loss scenario of competitiveness in foreign markets (a 46% drop in the cited period), the result of the high price of CO₂ rights. This factor records up to € 30 per ton of CO₂ emitted by the Catalan industry, while countries outside the Emissions Market, such as Turkey, should not face any expense for this concept.

The employer Ciment Català will prepare, next year, an Emission Reduction Roadmap that aims to reach a low carbon sector 2050 through the combination of conventional technologies and disruptive technologies. Among the first, the co-processing (use of energy from waste that would go to landfill) and the replacement of raw materials for materials from other industries and debris. Regarding disruptive technologies, it is worth mentioning the sequestration of carbon dioxide during the decarbonation process of limestone in the manufacture of clinker.

The sector’s commitment to climate control is absolute, and is also made explicit through the third Voluntary Agreement with the Generalitat, focused on the application of circular economy policies and the efficient use of resources. Thanks to these actions, in 2018, 250,000 tons of fossil fuels were saved through the energy recovery of waste and 100,000 tons of raw materials. Another aspect in which progress is being made is in electric mobility within the industrial facilities themselves.

Finally, and indirectly to help this program for a low-carbon sector, Catalan companies call for the introduction of environmental criteria in the bidding documents, such as the environmental declaration of the products used or Well, the analysis of the durability of the pavements.