Feds, cement association launch net zero roadmap
The federal government and the Cement Association of Canada have announced a strategy to bring the industry to net zero by 2050.
The first step of the plan calls for the industry to act on three priority areas by 2030. These include promoting Canadian market development; advancing innovation and transition in the industry; and positioning Canada as a world leader in the production, adoption and export of low-carbon cement and concrete products and technologies.
Government and industry collaboration, through major transitional industrial decarbonization projects, research and development, and standards and skills development, will further support the cement and concrete industry's push toward net zero by 2050.
"With this partnership, Canada will become a world-leading producer and exporter of low-carbon cement and concrete,” said federal Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne. “This will increase the adoption of low-carbon cement and concrete, leading to more jobs, more growth, and a healthier environment for all Canadians."
Canada is also committing to co-lead the Glasgow Breakthrough on Cement and Concrete, which will allow like-minded countries to share best practices on the range of policies, regulations, programs and other measures for decarbonizing the concrete and cement sector.
"Canada's cement and concrete industry is a leader in the fight to stop climate change,” said – Adam Auer, President and CEO, Cement Association of Canada. “While we are steadfast in our commitment to reduce our emissions by 15 million tonnes cumulatively by 2030 and reach true net zero by 2050, we know we can't do it alone. Together with government, we will continue to support the innovation and investment needed on our path to delivering net-zero concrete, while at the same time preserving its properties as a durable, resilient, versatile and cost-effective material."
Concrete is the most used building material on the planet. The cement needed to make that concrete accounts for 7% of global CO2 emissions and about 1.5% of Canada's. Worldwide, cement represented 26% of global industrial sector CO2 emissions in 2019.
With support and collaboration from the Government of Canada and partners across the construction value chain, Canada's cement and concrete industry is poised to achieve, through this partnership, the elimination of more than 15 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions cumulatively by 2030, followed by ongoing reductions of over 4 million tonnes annually from the production of cement and concrete in Canada.
Cement production in Canada was valued at more than $1.3 billion in 2019.
The Roadmap to Net-Zero Carbon Concrete was spearheaded by a joint government-industry working group, co-led by the Cement Association of Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada. The working group included key players from the federal government, the Canadian cement and concrete industry, and relevant environmental experts.