Canada is aiming to achieve net-zero carbon concrete by 2050
The Government of Canada, in collaboration with the Cement Association of Canada (CAC), has published a roadmap to achieving net-zero carbon concrete in the coming decades.
Concrete is the most used building material on the planet, and the cement needed to make that concrete accounts for seven per cent of global CO2 emissions and about 1.5 per cent of Canada’s emissions.
Canada’s cement and concrete industry is now pursuing the elimination of more than 15 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions cumulatively by 2030, followed by ongoing reductions of over four million tonnes annually from the production of cement and concrete in Canada.
As a first step, the roadmap includes the Action Plan to 2030, which is centred on three priority areas: driving 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.
This will be supported through industrial decarbonisation projects, research and development, and standards and skills development.
Canada is also doubling down on this initiative by 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 decarbonising the concrete and cement sector.
“With this partnership, Canada will become a world-leading producer and exporter of low-carbon cement and concrete,” Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry François-Philippe Champagne says.
“This will increase the adoption of low-carbon cement and concrete, leading to more jobs, more growth and a healthier environment for all Canadians. Together, we are working toward a more sustainable world that achieves net zero by 2050 and advances Canada’s commitment to clean growth.”