The cement manufacturing industry is both energy intensive and carbon intensive. The industry contributes to approximately 5 percent of global, man-made CO2 emissions. Globally the cement industry has developed a comprehensive strategy for reducing emissions through energy efficiency, fuel substitution, material substitution, and long-term research into both manufacturing processes and cement and concrete applications. While governments across North America grapple with taking action to addressing climate change, British Columbia (BC) is moving in advance of other Canadian jurisdictions in establishing a stringent price signal for greenhouse gas emissions. The newly instated carbon tax has the potential to significantly impact the competitiveness of BC's cement industry. This is of concern as provincial efforts to green the BC economy will require more, not less, cement given the many sustainability properties of cement and concrete products. This paper provides an overview of the BC carbon tax and the competitiveness considerations of the cement industry, including the economic impacts of BC's carbon tax on the cement industry. This paper assesses the policy and economic barriers that must be addressed in order for the cement industry to the advance its own globally developed and proven climate change strategy. Finally, the cement industry's recommendations on moving forward are provided. For teh covering abstract of this conference see ITRD number E217481.
Abstract