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Cement

Volume 690: debated on Wednesday 21 March 2007

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What assessment they have made of the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted in the production of one tonne of cement; and what is the estimated total emission of carbon dioxide in the production of cement in the United Kingdom and the European Union. [HL2485]

The UK calculates emissions from cement production as part of the greenhouse gas inventory. Emissions occur both from fuel combustion in the cement sector to provide heat for the calcination process, and from the calcination process itself.

Emissions of CO2 in 2004 from fuel combustion in the cement industry amounted to 4,661.6 thousand tonnes and emissions associated with the cement production process were 5,455.7 thousand tonnes. This equates to a total emission of 10,117 thousand tonnes of CO2. Total clinker (the main raw material for making cement) production was 10,813 thousand tonnes—emissions of carbon dioxide from the UK cement industry in 2004 were therefore approximately 0.94 tonnes per tonne of clinker produced.

Comparable emissions from fuel combustion are not available for the EC or for other European countries, since these are reported combined with other sectors as “other industry”.

Emissions associated with the calcination process, however, are available. The table below contains emissions of CO2 for a number of European countries, together with the amount of clinker produced, wherever this is available. The total report in the EC greenhouse gas inventory is also included in the table. The fourth column contains the “IEF” (implied emission factor)—this is the amount of CO2 emitted (thousand tonnes, kt) per thousand tonnes (kt) of clinker produced. This value is slightly lower for the UK than elsewhere.

Clinker produced (kt)

CO2 emission (kt)

IEF (kt/kt)

Austria

3120

1754

0.56

Belgium

5201

2837

0.55

Czech Republic

3017

1661

0.55

Denmark

2861

1539

0.54

Estonia

698

369

0.53

EC

-

83946

-

Finland

1064

560

0.53

France

17157

9007

0.53

Germany

26281

13929

0.53

Greece

11755

6382

0.54

Ireland

4283

2290

0.53

Italy

33049

17846

0.54

Latvia

-

144

-

Lithuania

633

330

0.52

Luxembourg

-

445

-

Netherlands

804

446

0.55

Norway

1324

726

0.55

Poland

9621

5070

0.53

Portugal

6980

3538

0.51

Slovakia

2271

1195

0.53

Slovenia

898

486

0.54

Spain

30798

16631

0.54

Sweden

2385

1284

0.54

UK

10813

5456

0.50

Other greenhouse gases are not emitted as part of the production process, only as a result of the associated fuel combustion. Emissions of methane and N2O are small—0.54 thousand tonnes and 0.17 thousand tonnes in 2004, respectively.