Every year, four tonnes of concrete are produced for every person on earth and the cement – the glue that binds concrete – is responsible for 8% of all global emissions
A new report by the World Economic Forum examines what it describes as “one of the most promising solutions”, which is called LC3 – Limestone Calcined Clay Cement.
Clinker, the key component in cement, is extremely carbon intensive, making up 90% of overall cement emissions in the fabrication of concrete. Fortunately, there are a number of proven strategies that can dramatically reduce the amount of clinker needed to make cement and concrete.
LC3 addresses both sources of carbon emissions from making clinker. First, it replaces half of the clinker with calcined clay and ground limestone, neither of which releases carbon when heated the way limestone does. Second, the clay is heated to a much lower temperature, which reduces the amount of fuel required and resulting emissions. With lower temperatures, it is also more feasible to switch to cleaner energy sources such as electricity than it is for making clinker. LC3 can reduce CO2 emissions by around 40% compared with conventional cement by replacing half of the clinker.
LC3 is already growing rapidly and is currently being produced in several plants around the world. For each ton of calcined clay produced, we save 600 kilograms of CO2.
By the end of 2023 LC3 will have already saved around 15 million tons of CO2. By 2025 it is expected that LC3 will have saved 45 million tons.
The WEF report concludes “If the cement industry widely adopts the use of LC3, it can help prevent up to 500 million tons of CO2 emissions by 2030.”
Many of the leading cement producers are in the process of adopting calcined clay cement. Holcim, for example, announced in January 2023 the launch of operations at a plant in France that will deliver up to 500,000 tons of low-carbon cement per year. Argos Cementos in Columbia produce 2.3 million tons of LC3 cement a year, which is already being used locally in the construction of roads, tunnels and buildings.
In the coming years and decades, the majority of new construction worldwide will occur in the Global South — particularly in Africa, where the population is expected to increase by 1 billion by 2050. That means a lot of cement.
Read the full LC3 report on the World Economic Forum website HERE
About The World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation.
The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests. The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance. Moral and intellectual integrity is at the heart of everything it does.
Our activities are shaped by a unique institutional culture founded on the stakeholder theory, which asserts that an organization is accountable to all parts of society. The institution carefully blends and balances the best of many kinds of organizations, from both the public and private sectors, international organizations and academic institutions.
Read the latest WEF Annual Report here. Find out about its Regulations and Statutes.
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