That was the conclusion of senior industry participants at the World Cement Association's (WCA) first CEO-exclusive, pre-conference webinar.
The webinar brought together thirty CEOs representing cement-producing companies from Iraq, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey among others, ahead of WCA’s annual conference which will be held in Dubai, on the theme of “Navigating the Climate Challenge: Reducing Carbon and Reducing Costs”, with a particular focus on the MENA Region.
Among the key outcomes from the CEO forum were that cement producers in the MENA region can almost halve carbon emissions from cement with zero or very low CAPEX.
The participants also stated that there is a short window to be proactive and shape the industry roadmap rather than wait for government regulations to be imposed.
MENA region’s main challenge is due to limestone quality in some countries and limited availability of supplementary cementitious material. The webinar participants agreed that new, innovative technologies can help overcome some limitations.
High energy prices have encouraged a greater focus on energy efficiency. Projects such as waste heat reduction now have highly attractive returns.
The MENA region is responsible for approximately 7% of total global CO2 emissions, and currently produces around 7% of the world’s cement. It is the largest producing region outside of China and India, which the WCA says underlines the importance of its annual conference to call attention to the region’s urgent need to embark on the net zero journey.
WCA and A3 & Co., a cement business consulting firm, have partnered to promote decarbonisation as a strategy, with a major emphasis on cost reduction and the competitive edge that decarbonisation will bring to the MENA cement sector.
As COP27 and COP28 are being held in Egypt and the UAE respectively, the world’s attention will be on the region, particularly as MENA has been on average slower to make climate pledges and decarbonisation investments. The WCA says this poses a unique opportunity to showcase the potential of the MENA cement sector by kickstarting investments in energy efficiency and lowering emissions with minimal investment required.
The second pre-conference webinar will be free to attend and open to the public, and will be held virtually at 10am UK time on Tuesday 30th August. This session, entitled “Decarbonisation as an Industrial Efficiency Game Changer” will feature an overview of the WCA’s MENA roadmap, a guide on how to tackle the sector’s growing carbon footprint, a preview of the conference content and a thorough discussion of key issues facing the cement industry in MENA.
