Peak cement-related CO₂ emissions and the changes in drivers in China

In order to fight against the climate change, China has set a series of emission reduction policies for super-emitting sectors. The cement industry is the major source of process-related emissions, and more attention should be paid to this industry. This study calculates the process-related, direct fossil fuel-related, and indirect electricity-related emissions from China's cement industry. The study finds that China's cement-related emissions peaked in 2014. The emissions are, for the first time, divided into seven parts based on the cement used in different new building types. The provincial emission analysis finds that developed provinces outsourced their cement capacities to less developed regions. This study then employs index decomposition analysis to explore the drivers of changes in China's cement-related emissions. The results show that economic growth was the primary driver of emission growth, while emission intensity and efficiency were two offsetting factors. The changes in the construction industry's structure and improvement in efficiency were the two major drivers that contributed to the decreased emissions since 2014.

The online version of this article (doi:10.1111/jiec.12839) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.