Data from Global Cement and Concrete Association,40 and CARB and Portland Cement Association (for California only).
Analysis by Beacon Economics
Highlight
- Although California’s cement plants are marginally more emissions-efficient on a per-ton basis than the average American plant, they emit more CO2e per ton of cement than plants in the rest of the world. For example, they emit about 33 percent more than plants in China and India.41 There are two primary reasons for this divergence. The first is plant age—American plants are older on average, and thus have not installed some of the latest technologies, like more efficient kilns, preheaters, and precalciners. The second is higher clinker ratios in the cement produced. The US, and California, generally have more stringent regulations regarding concrete strength, and stronger cement typically commands higher carbon output.
40 Global Cement and Concrete Association (2023). GNR 2.0 Database. Accessed 6 November, 2023. https://gccassociation.org/sustainability-innovation/gnr-gcca-in-numbers/
41 Hasanbeigi, A. & Springer, C. (2019.) California’s cement industry: failing the climate challenge. Global Efficiency Intelligence. San Francisco, CA.