COP28 and concrete: An insider’s view

Image: Rafael Enrique via AdobeStock - stock.adobe.com

The last-minute agreement at COP28 was a welcome step forward, in the united battle against global warming.

For the first time, countries agreed on the need to “transition away” from fossil fuels.

And COP28 was also a big step forward for the global cement and concrete industry and the GCCA too.

For the first time, we hosted a pavilion, Concrete Future, in the blue zone. That is the official area where government minister, policymakers, observers and influential stakeholders base themselves and negotiations take place.

Our pavilion became a central focal point, from where we could inform delegates about the work of the GCCA, showcase the decarbonisation action of our members, and highlight the essential role that concrete plays in providing the resilient and sustainable infrastructure our world needs. There is no question the GCCA now sits at the top table for international influencers and decision-makers on industry and net-zero.

In all, the GCCA hosted 18 events in our pavilion during COP28 across a range of topics, including our industry’s work on net zero, policy initiatives, the built environment, CCUS and nature positivity. Our executive team also spoke at, and attended, many more events.

It was standing room only at the Concrete Future Pavilion for the launch of our Cement Industry Net Zero Progress Report, our key engagement at the start of COP28. Attendees came from across the world including from industry, government and the built environment. The report provides a comprehensive update on the decarbonisation progress our industry has made, two years on from the Concrete Future 2050 Net Zero Roadmap. You can see a copy of the report here and watch a recording of the launch event at COP28 here.

The GCCA was also proud to have supported the development and launch of the cement and concrete breakthrough at COP28. Cement and concrete are, of course, essential materials for modern infrastructure and will play a key role in providing the resilient and sustainable housing needed in the future, in order to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)s. Co-led by Canada and the UAE, the breakthrough initiative will help countries share best practices on a range of policies and other measures to help our sector decarbonise.

Fernando Gonzalez, GCCA president and Cemex CEO, and I were among those who joined Catherine Stewart, Canada’s ambassador for climate change at the official launch.

We were also pleased to host a Cement Breakthrough Industry Roundtable at COP28, attended by Canada’s minister for innovation, science and industry, Francois-Philippe Champagne, Abdulla Sami Alshamsi, assistant undersecretary, industrial development and national content sector, United Arab Emirates, Andrew Noseworthy, assistant deputy minister for innovation, science and economic development in Canada, as well as GCCA member companies.

The launch event for the Cement Breakthrough (Image GCCA)

Industrial Transition Accelerator

Fernando Gonzalez and I also took part in roundtable discussions at COP28 at the launch of the Industrial Transition Accelerator, on behalf of the cement sector.

The ITAs are aimed at speeding up decarbonisation of global heavy industries and delivering on Paris-aligned targets, by bringing industry leaders together with policymakers, investors and technical experts to help unlock finance and deliver on decarbonisation projects.

Also, at COP28, the GCCA launched the third programme in its Innovandi brand -- the Entrepreneur Network.

The network brings together start-ups that are developing technologies relevant to decarbonisation across the cement and concrete value chain and enables them to network with GCCA members. It will be open to start-ups from around the world who are specialising in accelerating the decarbonisation of the cement and concrete industry.

Membership will provide a platform to access the Innovandi mentorship programme and network with peers and GCCA members, as well as access first-hand information on the Innovandi Open Challenge programme.

Events at the Concrete Future Pavilion

The GCCA Concrete Future Pavilion also played host to several events focused on the built environment, including an event jointly hosted with leading built environment design firm, and pavilion sponsor, Gensler.

The co-CEO of Gensler, Diane Hoskins, told the audience that the company is a net zero partner with the cement and concrete industry and “highly dependent on each other.”

“The world will not achieve its climate reduction goals if the emissions from the construction sector are not reduced,” she said, “and as the largest architecture firm in the world, we’re part of this conversation with the concrete industry.”

Finally, I attended the invite-only event at COP28, which launched the Carbon Management Challenge, which aims to accelerate deployment of Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects.

The GCCA welcomes this initiative, which should support our industry in developing this essential technology. Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage is one of the GCCA’s 2050 Net Zero Roadmap levers, expected to account for 36% of total emission reductions.

We worked with partners to ensure that CCUS was a major theme of our programme at COP28, hosting five well-attended discussions alongside our pavilion sponsors, four in partnership with CEM CCUS.

The global path to net zero will be hard. But COP28 was important for the cement and concrete industry’s efforts to decarbonise. And it may just prove to be the moment where countries finally woke up to the need to take action on fossil fuels.

Thomas Guillot is chief executive of the Global Cement and Concrete Association.