UAE/UK: The Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) has welcomed the first international agreement to transition away from fossil fuels, signed by 200 countries at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai. The GCCA said that the deal recognises the need for deep, rapid and sustained reductions in global CO2 emissions.

GCCA chief executive officer Thomas Guillot said “We welcome the progress made at COP28. Decarbonising global industries such as ours will take the collective effort of governments and industry, finance and policymakers, scientists and civil society, all working together. On behalf of our industry and alongside our members who represent the majority of cement production globally, we participated in the preparation and launch of a number of key initiatives that will help enable the shift to net zero – including the Industrial Transition Accelerator, Cement Breakthrough, and Carbon Management Challenge.” He added “We are fully committed to decarbonising our sector and have a detailed net zero commitment and pathway which we are already working towards, including the substitution of fossil fuels, the use of renewable energy and the deployment of new technologies such as CCUS.”