Speaking at the World Cement’s Envirotech 2025 Conference in Athens, the World Cement Association’s (WCA) founder and director, Emir Adiguzel, warned of a bleak future cost-wise
Emir said that rising cement costs would impact financial and structural aspects at an unprecedented scale.
The reason for such dire warnings comes from rising carbon costs causing tariffs to rise.
Decarbonisation is an expensive process
The warning showed that while decarbonisation was previously an operational expense, it is now a selling imperative, causing rising cement costs and changing the global production landscape.
The WCA has previously called for more investment and action to be taken in the decarbonisation of cement. Last year, the cement industry had reduced their per-ton emissions by 23% since 1990, with the largest strides being made between 2000-2012.
However, nearly 90% of cement is produced in emerging economies, meaning that a worldwide effort needs to be made to decarbonise. At the time, the WCA’s CEO, Ian Riley, said: “The World Cement Association has always emphasised the need for immediate and collaborative action between government and industry to make carbon-negative concrete a reality at scale. Creating demand for low-emission materials is essential for decarbonisation. Now is the moment to work together to make necessary progress this decade.”
Rising cement costs are not the only issue
At the Athens conference, Emir also highlighted several other issues and questions critical to the industry’s development:
Overcapacity remains one of the cement industry’s most pressing challenges.
The US has a net production deficit, yet imposing tariffs on cement imports from Canada, Mexico, or Europe will not create shortages. Instead, it will drive up prices due to logistical differences.
Carbon capture is now dictating the global cement production map. Many small to mid-sized companies are at risk of disappearing, while large multinationals with access to substantial funding will emerge as dominant players.
The European cement industry is already facing potential plant closures due to carbon pricing pressures.
The EU Commission has proposed a €100bn industrial decarbonisation bank, but its financing structure remains uncertain. Will funding be distributed equally among industry players? Will small and mid-sized companies receive a fair share?
Therefore the WCA are of the mind that the cement industry, globally speaking, is at a critical turning point. Large changes and investments will likely need to be made to avoid rising costs.
In the UK, low-carbon cement is seeing interest, as companies such as Cemvision expand their low-carbon product to other countries. This cement registers a 75% CO2 reduction.
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