UN backs concrete industry’s net zero plan

Concrete is the second most-used material on earth

The Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has backed plans from the concrete industry to eliminate CO2 emissions by 2050.

Concrete is the second most-used material on earth after water and the backbone of modern infrastructure. It is used to build homes, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, tunnels and helps to provide clean water and green energy. However, it currently accounts for 7% of global CO2 emissions.

The world’s leading manufacturers – all members of the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) – have pledged to eliminate those emissions by 2050, in line with GCCA’s Roadmap for Net Zero Concrete, the first heavy industry to set out such a detailed plan.

At the GCCA conference in Switzerland, speaking via video link, the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, said he wanted to see “concrete pledges from the concrete industry.”

He told the conference that concrete is, “fundamental to building a better world… and we have no time to lose, if we are to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees centigrade. Science tells us that requires cutting global greenhouse emissions by almost half by 2030, That means taking a quantum leap in climate action – and slashing global emissions.”

Chief Executive of the GCCA, Thomas Guillot, added that, “many challenges remain, which we must overcome, if we are to achieve net zero, including enabling polices and regulations from governments across the world, which often don’t yet exist.”