Evaluating CO2 emission performance in China’s cement industry: An enterprise perspective

Abstract

This paper targets to evaluate the overall CO2 emissions from cement industry based on the detailed information of China’s total 1574 cement enterprises in 2013. State-owned enterprises and large scale enterprises dominate the total CO2 emissions, accounting for 59.35% and 61.87% of the total emissions respectively. The process emission intensities of all enterprises ranged among 500–600kg CO2/t clinker, while the energy emission intensities varied among different enterprises, with an average level of 348kg CO2/t clinker and a standarddeviation of 233kg CO2/t clinker. The average CO2 emissions performance of China’s cement enterprises (806kg CO2/t clinker) is 35kg CO2/t clinker lower than the global level in 2013. The CO2 emissions intensity of the best 20th clinker production, which is lower than the IEA’s 2020 target, could be the entry threshold for future new enterprises and top runner bench mark for the existing enterprises. The Yangtze River Delta region is the most important hotspot of the cement CO2 emissions. Wuhu & Tongling are the hottest emission centers, with an average of 8288ton of CO2 emissions per square kilometers. Ownership of cement enterprises should be carefully considered in the policy preparation. Favorable policies could focus on medium sized facilities and facilities in the ENDI type along the Silk Road Economic Belt.