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Recent Developments:

• NITI Aayog’s Cement Sector Decarbonisation Roadmap: In January 2026, NITI Aayog released sector-specific green-transition roadmaps to align industrial growth with Viksit Bharat by 2047 and India’s net-zero emissions target by 2070. The cement roadmap prioritises refuse-derived fuel (RDF), clinker substitution, carbon capture technologies and stronger carbon-market mechanisms.
• Projected emissions challenge: India produced approximately 391 million tonnes (Mt) of cement in 2023, generating an estimated 246 MtCO₂e. Under a business-as-usual scenario, sectoral emissions could rise substantially as infrastructure and cement demand expand.
• Decarbonisation target: The roadmap envisages reducing cement’s emissions intensity from approximately 0.63 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per tonne of cement in 2023 to around 0.09–0.13 tonnes by 2070.

Understanding Construction-Related Emissions:

Embodied Carbon and Operational Carbon:

• Embodied carbon refers to emissions associated with extracting raw materials, manufacturing construction materials, transporting them and constructing buildings; cement and steel are major contributors.
• Operational carbon arises from the energy used to operate buildings, including electricity for lighting, cooling, heating and appliances. Decarbonising construction therefore requires both cleaner materials and energy-efficient buildings.
• Cement is particularly difficult to decarbonise because its emissions arise from both fuel combustion and chemical reactions, not merely from the electricity consumed by factories.

India’s Cement Sector: Scale and Environmental Footprint

Industry Profile:

• India is the world’s second-largest cement producer after China, with cement supporting housing, highways, railways, metros, industrial facilities and urbanisation.
• According to figures cited in the NITI Aayog roadmap, India had 333 cement manufacturing units, comprising 159 integrated large plants, 116 grinding units, 62 mini cement plants and five clinkerisation units.
• Cement production reached approximately 391 Mt in 2023, accounting for around 246 MtCO₂e, or roughly 6% of India’s national greenhouse gas emissions under the cited estimates.

How Cement Manufacturing Generates Emissions:

• Limestone extraction: Limestone is the principal raw material for ordinary Portland cement. Mining can cause land degradation, vegetation loss, habitat disturbance and changes in local drainage.
• Calcination: Limestone, primarily calcium carbonate, is heated to produce lime and release carbon dioxide. This is an unavoidable process emission when conventional limestone-based clinker is manufactured.
• Clinker production: Limestone and other materials are heated in kilns to approximately 1,450°C. Coal and petroleum coke have traditionally supplied much of the thermal energy, generating additional emissions.
• Grinding and blending: Clinker is ground with gypsum and other suitable materials. The proportion of clinker used in cement strongly influences its carbon intensity.
• Major emissions sources: Process emissions from calcination, fuel combustion and electricity consumption together determine the sector’s footprint. NITI Aayog’s earlier technical assessment attributed approximately 57–60% of emissions to calcination, 27–31% to thermal energy and 10–13% to electricity, although shares vary by plant and accounting methodology.

Key Strategies for Cement Decarbonisation:

Reduce Clinker Content and Expand Blended Cement:

• Clinker substitution reduces the quantity of carbon-intensive clinker required per tonne of cement by using suitable supplementary cementitious materials, including fly ash, blast-furnace slag and calcined clay.
• Portland Pozzolana Cement (PPC) and Portland Slag Cement (PSC) can have lower embodied emissions than Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), depending on composition and production methods.
• Limestone Calcined Clay Cement (LC3) and Portland limestone cement offer additional pathways to reduce clinker demand, subject to performance requirements, material availability and applicable standards.
• Lower clinker content reduces process emissions and can improve resource efficiency, but substitutions must meet the required strength, durability and safety standards.

Replace Fossil Fuels with Refuse-Derived Fuel:

• Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) is produced by processing combustible fractions of municipal solid waste and can replace part of the coal or petroleum coke used in cement kilns.
• NITI Aayog’s roadmap recommends achieving a 20% thermal substitution rate by 2030. Its published overview estimates cumulative emissions reductions of approximately 73 MtCO₂e; some summaries cite figures approaching 80 Mt, so the precise estimate should be linked to the relevant scenario and reporting period.
• Effective implementation requires source-level waste segregation, processing facilities, consistent fuel quality, reliable transport and pollution-control safeguards.

Improve Energy Efficiency and Clean Electricity:

• Energy-efficient kilns, waste-heat recovery, efficient grinding equipment and improved process controls can reduce fuel and electricity consumption.
• Greater use of renewable electricity, electrification where technically feasible and improved plant efficiency can reduce indirect emissions.
• These measures cannot eliminate all emissions because limestone calcination releases CO₂ through a chemical reaction even when cleaner energy is used.

Deploy Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage:

• Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) involves capturing CO₂ from industrial processes, followed by its utilisation or long-term storage.
• CCUS is especially relevant for cement because conventional process emissions cannot be eliminated solely through fuel switching or renewable electricity.
• India’s Department of Science and Technology launched a national CCUS research and development roadmap in December 2025, highlighting industrial test beds, collaboration and technological development for hard-to-abate sectors, including cement and steel.

Encourage Traditional and Innovative Building Materials:

• Lime-based binders, earth-based construction, recycled materials and other suitable alternatives can reduce reliance on conventional cement in selected applications.
• Material choice must reflect structural loads, durability, climate, local resource availability and building regulations; historical examples alone do not establish suitability for modern high-rise or infrastructure projects.

Challenges in Adopting Green Cement:

Technical and Commercial Barriers:

• Strength development and durability: Some blended cements gain early strength more slowly than OPC, requiring adjustments to construction schedules and quality-control practices.
• Established industry practices: Conventional cement benefits from familiar standards, established supply chains, broad commercial availability and widespread acceptance among builders and contractors.
• Waste-management constraints: Poor segregation of municipal waste can reduce RDF availability and quality, while unsuitable waste may create operational and environmental risks.
• Infrastructure and investment: Alternative binders, CCUS, waste-processing facilities and new kiln technologies require capital, technical expertise and dependable supply networks.
• Standards and verification: Performance-based standards, reliable emissions measurement and consistent certification are necessary to establish confidence in low-carbon construction materials.

Economic and Policy Barriers:

• Demand uncertainty: Manufacturers may hesitate to invest in low-carbon technologies without predictable demand, credible standards and long-term policy signals.
• Limited commercial scale: Some alternative materials and carbon-capture technologies require further testing, infrastructure development and cost reductions before widespread deployment.
• Risk of greenwashing: Claims of low-carbon cement need transparent lifecycle assessment, comparable emissions-intensity benchmarks and independent verification.

Way Forward:

Government Procurement and Market Creation:

• Green public procurement should prioritise certified low-carbon cement in suitable government infrastructure projects, creating demand and encouraging manufacturers to invest in cleaner production.
• The Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) can support industrial decarbonisation through emissions-intensity targets and incentives for eligible entities that outperform their requirements.

Strengthen Waste and Industrial Infrastructure:

• Integrate municipal waste management with cement production through segregation, processing, RDF quality standards and dependable supply agreements.
• Develop regional networks for collecting industrial by-products and alternative raw materials, while ensuring that their use does not compromise product performance or environmental safeguards.

Research, Standards and Construction Practices:

• Expand research into CCUS, LC3, alternative binders, low-carbon concrete and energy-efficient kilns, with pilot projects to establish technical and commercial viability.
• Update relevant Bureau of Indian Standards specifications and strengthen testing, certification and lifecycle-based emissions disclosure.
• Encourage architects, engineers and public agencies to use material-efficient designs, optimise concrete requirements and select alternatives where technically appropriate.
• Improve coordination among the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the Ministry of Power, NITI Aayog, industry and research institutions.

Value Addition for UPSC:

GS Paper III:

• Environment: Industrial decarbonisation, greenhouse gas mitigation, climate change and India’s net-zero commitment.
• Economy and Infrastructure: Green construction, sustainable urbanisation, industrial competitiveness and low-carbon infrastructure.
• Science and Technology: CCUS, alternative binders, waste-derived fuels, material innovation and industrial energy efficiency.
• Government Policies: NITI Aayog’s Cement Sector Decarbonisation Roadmap, the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme and green public procurement.

Key Concepts:

• Embodied carbon: Emissions associated with producing and delivering construction materials.
• Clinker substitution: Replacing a portion of clinker with suitable alternative materials to reduce cement’s emissions intensity.
• Thermal substitution rate: The share of a plant’s thermal energy demand supplied by alternative fuels rather than conventional fossil fuels.
• Hard-to-abate sector: An industry in which emissions are difficult to eliminate because of high-temperature energy requirements or inherent chemical-process emissions.

Analytical Conclusion:

• India’s cement challenge is to reconcile rapid infrastructure expansion with climate commitments.
• Lower clinker use, waste-derived fuels, energy efficiency, cleaner electricity, CCUS and green public procurement must operate as complementary measures.
• A credible transition requires measurable emissions reductions, technically sound standards, reliable waste-management systems and commercially viable low-carbon materials.