COP30 BRAZIL
Sustainability, Low-Emission Concrete, and the COP30 of the Amazon.
COP30 BRAZIL
We are living through a critical moment in the climate emergency.
The increase in average global temperature exceeds 1.1 °C compared to the pre-industrial era, and each additional tenth of a degree brings with it more intense risks of droughts, floods, glacial melting, and biodiversity loss.
Global infrastructure — roads, buildings, tunnels, bridges — relies heavily on materials such as concrete, which in turn generate significant greenhouse gas emissions.
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
According to the World Economic Forum, global cement manufacturing will generate approximately 1.6 billion tons of CO₂ in 2022, accounting for roughly 8% of total global emissions.
If the current trajectory continues, annual concrete production could rise from approximately 14 billion m³ to approximately 20 billion m³ by mid-century, which would increase emissions to around 3.8 billion tons of CO₂/year for this sector.
The construction sector is not a secondary part of the equation — it is at the core of the transition to a low-carbon world.
Concrete additive
The Role of Concrete
and Construction Materials
Why is concrete so strategic?
Cement (the main component of concrete) causes emissions through two main mechanisms: the calcination of limestone (responsible for about 60-70% of emissions in clinker production) and the combustion of fossil fuels in kilns (30-40%).
Thus, even if energy consumption is more efficient, there is a "quota" of emissions that is inherent to the chemical process.
Concrete is the second most consumed material on the planet after water — and that makes its scale of impact enormous.
