Cement, the key component of concrete and one of the most widely used manmade materials, is now the cornerstone of global construction. its production has a massive footprint that neither the industry nor governments have been willing to address. Because of the heat needed to decompose rock and the natural chemical processes involved in making cement, every tonne made releases one tonne of C02, the main greenhouse warming gas. Nearly 6% of all UK greenhouse gas emissions, and up to 8% of the world’s, are now sourced from cement production. Annual cement production has quadrupled from nearly one billion to over 4 billion tonnes a year in 30 years.
A more modest 3 million tonnes of concrete will be needed to construct the Hinckley B nuclear power station in Somerset, and the proposed new runway at Heathrow will require one million tonnes.
— source theguardian.com | 25 Feb 2019