Headline from Treehugger.com: Cement industry gets on board with Paris Climate Accord
Key takeaway from the article: “Exactly how they will do this remains to be seen…” AND “…the launch of the effort did stipulate that as much as 50% of the technology needed to meet this daunting challenge has yet to be fully developed…” (emphasis mine)
In other words, the industry is slopping some greenwash on what is in reality a desperate situation for themselves. Cement emissions must fall to essentially zero (as opposed to the near 10% of global emissions they are now). As cement production is highly CO2 intensive, the inescapable conclusion must be that concrete use must basically cease. Nor is there is an honest possibility of off-setting cement emissions by planting trees. The billions of trees that need to be planted will need to function to draw down existing emissions, not to offset continued emissions.
The world has yet to understand that all human caused CO2 emissions must be as near zero as possible, and that all our efforts must be directed toward removing the excess CO2 already in the atmosphere. We dont get to keep cheating by offsetting continued emissions. Cement production is cheating.
Yet, how can the entire global civilization function without concrete? What do we do for all new building projects, let alone how do we repair all the existing concrete structures, the vast majority of which have less than 100 year lifespans? THOSE are the key questions that bright minds must be focusing on, instead of trying to prop up an industry that is part of the problem.
steve austin 