China plans to reach maximum emissions from its carbon-intensive cement industry before 2023, several years ahead of its national target.
(Bloomberg) — China plans to reach maximum emissions from its carbon-intensive cement industry before 2023, several years ahead of its national target.
The country’s building materials industry as a whole will reach peak emissions by 2025, state-owned China Environment News reported, citing implementation opinions on the sector’s 14th five-year plan. Both dates are well ahead of the national target for pollution to peak before 2030.
The global cement industry spewed out about 4.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2020, and China accounted for 55% of total production, according to the International Energy Agency. Cement is responsible for about 8% of global emissions, according to Beyond Zero Emissions, and China’s share alone emitted roughly as much as India’s entire energy complex, according to BP Plc data.
A massive slump in China’s real estate sector has already led to a drop in pollution from the building materials industry. Cement production fell by 18% in the second quarter from the same period the previous year, leading to a 15 million ton decline in the amount of carbon dioxide the industry released, according to Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
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