Forecasting CO₂ emissions to achieve net-zero emission targets for North American cement industry

Forecasting carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions has become a significant issue in recent years. International organizations have emphasized the necessity of creating a plan to gradually reduce the concentration of this pollutant in the atmosphere to combat climate change and its catastrophic consequences. The cement industry represents one of the key sectors to address this problem. The objective of this study is to predict CO₂ emissions in North American cement industries. To achieve this, a multi-objective mathematical model is developed, integrating various machine learning algorithms. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to evaluate the impacts of varying the scale of deployment of current technologies focused on reducing CO₂ emissions. Results demonstrate a considerable improvement in accuracy metrics, with a 48.13% reduction in Mean Absolute Error achieved through the use of the Generalized Reduced Gradient method (GRG). Forecasts reveal an increase in emissions of about 0.58 MtCO₂ every year between 2020 and 2050. The proposed framework can assist decision-makers and policymakers in focusing on the technical and logistical requirements to meet net-zero emission targets.