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Why cement dominates concrete’s carbon footprint
Concrete is a mixture of cementitious binder, water and aggregates. Aggregates usually make up most of the concrete’s mass, but the cement fraction is generally the emissions hotspot because making clinker requires both a chemical reaction and high-temperature heat. A concrete specification that uses less cement, or cement with a lower clinker share, can therefore have a lower embodied carbon value even when the aggregate volume is similar.
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It is important not to use “cement” and “concrete” as synonyms. Cement is the powdered binder. Concrete is the finished mixture placed in a structure. A cement plant’s emissions intensity cannot be assigned directly to every cubic metre of concrete without knowing the concrete’s cement content, supplementary cementitious materials, aggregate supply and the accounting boundary.
The International Energy Agency describes cement as difficult to decarbonise because production relies on carbon-containing raw materials and high-temperature heating. Those two requirements create separate direct-emissions problems that must be addressed differently.
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Clinker is the emissions-intensive ingredient
Clinker is made by heating limestone and other raw materials in a kiln. The resulting nodules are ground with other constituents to produce cement. Because clinker embodies the kiln chemistry and most of the high-temperature energy demand, the clinker-to-cement ratio is a central indicator of cement’s potential embodied carbon.
Replacing part of the clinker with supplementary cementitious materials or other permitted constituents can lower cement and concrete emissions. The replacement is not automatically suitable for every project: the revised binder must be tested for setting, workability, strength development, durability and other specified performance requirements.
What is the difference between process emissions and fuel emissions?
Process emissions from limestone chemistry
During clinker production, limestone is chemically converted into lime. Carbon dioxide that was bound in the raw material is released as a process emission. This CO2 would occur even if the kiln were heated with a very low-carbon energy source, because it comes from the raw material rather than from combustion.
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Fuel emissions from kiln heat
Kilns must reach very high temperatures to form clinker. Burning coal, petroleum coke, natural gas or other fuels produces direct combustion emissions. Fuel switching, higher thermal efficiency and greater use of lower-emissions fuels can reduce this component, but they cannot remove the CO2 released by the limestone reaction.
Fuel emissions also depend on how a plant measures fuel use. A calculation should identify the fuel type, its emission factor, the quantity consumed and whether the reported value includes only kiln firing or other on-site thermal operations. Avoid treating a single fuel-share percentage as representative of all cement plants.
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Why both sources matter
Process and fuel emissions occur at the cement plant and are usually reported as direct emissions within cement-sector accounting. They respond to different interventions:
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- Process emissions: reduced primarily through lower clinker content, alternative raw materials where technically appropriate, and carbon capture for residual emissions.
- Fuel emissions: reduced through efficient kilns, waste-heat recovery where applicable, lower-carbon or renewable fuels and electrification of suitable equipment.
There is no generally applicable global split that assigns every tonne of concrete to a fixed percentage of chemistry, kiln fuel and electricity. The shares change with plant design, fuel mix, clinker ratio, electricity source, production year and the product boundary.
Does electricity used to make cement matter?
Yes. Electricity is used in raw-material preparation, crushing, grinding clinker, blending cement and moving material through the plant. Those emissions are indirect: they occur at the generators supplying the electricity rather than in the cement kiln itself.
The electricity contribution is location- and year-dependent. The International Energy Agency’s 2025 electricity analysis reports a global generation-average intensity of 445 g CO2 per kWh in 2024 and forecasts 400 g CO2 per kWh in 2027. These are global generation averages, not measurements for a particular cement plant, contract or regional grid.
For a plant-specific calculation, use an electricity factor that matches the plant’s geography and reporting year. The IEA’s 2025 emissions-factor database provides country-level grid factors for most countries through 2023 and provisional 2024 factors for selected countries. A location-specific factor is preferable to applying the global average indiscriminately.
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How electricity changes a plant calculation
- Record the plant’s electricity consumption for the declared production quantity, such as one tonne of cement.
- Identify the geographic grid or contractual supply arrangement used in the inventory.
- Select an emissions factor for that grid and the same reporting year, documenting whether it is a generation-average, residual-mix or contractual factor.
- Multiply electricity use by the selected factor and keep the result separate from direct kiln emissions.
If two cement products report different electricity emissions, check their electricity factors before concluding that one plant is intrinsically more efficient. A cleaner grid can lower indirect emissions even when the equipment is similar; conversely, a carbon-intensive grid can raise the footprint of an efficient plant.
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How the concrete mix changes the result
A concrete footprint is determined by the whole recipe, not just by the cement plant’s intensity. The key variables include:
- the mass of cementitious binder per cubic metre or other declared unit;
- the clinker share of that binder;
- the type and quantity of supplementary cementitious materials;
- aggregate production and transport;
- water, admixtures and batching energy;
- the strength, durability and service life required by the design.
Lowering cement content can reduce embodied carbon, but only when the concrete still meets structural, exposure and construction requirements. A mix that gains strength slowly may require different curing or stripping times. A mix optimized for one climate, aggregate source or standard may not transfer directly to another project.
Clinker-to-cement milestones in the IEA Net Zero Scenario
The IEA’s 2023 Net Zero Scenario illustrates the scale of change assumed in a pathway toward net zero. These are scenario milestones, not predictions of what will happen without policy, investment and deployment.
| Indicator | 2022 | 2030 scenario milestone | 2035 scenario milestone | 2050 scenario milestone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinker-to-cement ratio | 0.71 | 0.65 | 0.61 | 0.57 |
| Kiln thermal energy intensity (GJ per tonne of clinker) | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 2.9 |
| Low-emissions fuels as a share of thermal energy | 5% | 30% | not stated | 86% |
The ratio milestones indicate a larger role for non-clinker constituents. The thermal-intensity milestones indicate more efficient heat use. The low-emissions-fuel milestones address combustion emissions. None of these figures is a guaranteed industry average for the stated year.
How to compare cement and concrete carbon data correctly
Environmental product declarations (EPDs) are useful only when the declarations describe comparable products and boundaries. A cement EPD is commonly a cradle-to-gate declaration: it covers production through the plant gate. It does not, by itself, quantify transport to the project, construction, use, maintenance, repairs or end of life.
Check the declared unit and function
Compare like with like: for example, a tonne of cement should not be compared directly with a cubic metre of concrete. Even two cubic-metre declarations may serve different strength classes or durability requirements. Confirm the declared unit, product function and performance basis before using a lower number as evidence of a better choice.
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Check the clinker and binder information
Look for clinker content, cement type and supplementary cementitious materials. A lower value may result from a lower clinker ratio, a cleaner energy supply, a different allocation method or a narrower product definition. The declaration should make those drivers visible.
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Record the plant location, grid factor, reporting year and whether purchased renewable electricity is treated contractually or physically. Electricity data from different years can produce different results even when production equipment has not changed.
Check the product category rules and life-cycle modules
Verify the EPD’s product category rules, PCR version, declared modules and validity period. A cradle-to-gate value cannot be compared with a value that includes delivery, construction or end-of-life stages unless the comparison is adjusted to a common boundary.
| Comparison question | Why it changes the answer |
|---|---|
| What is the declared unit? | A tonne of cement, a tonne of binder and a cubic metre of concrete measure different products. |
| How much clinker is present? | Clinker carries the kiln chemistry and much of the thermal burden. |
| Which fuel and process data are included? | Combustion and raw-material CO2 respond to different technologies. |
| Which electricity factor and year apply? | Grid intensity varies by geography and time. |
| Which boundary and PCR apply? | Cradle-to-gate and full-life-cycle values are not interchangeable. |
| Does the mix meet the same performance requirement? | A lower-carbon mix is not a functional substitute unless strength, durability and construction requirements are satisfied. |
Where carbonation fits—and where it does not
Concrete can absorb some CO2 during its use phase through carbonation. That uptake is a separate accounting issue from emissions at the cement plant. The IEA direct cement-production calculation cited here excludes use-phase recarbonation, and the timing and amount of uptake depend on the concrete, exposure conditions, demolition and subsequent handling.
Do not subtract an estimated carbonation benefit from production emissions unless the same life-cycle method defines the uptake, timing, system boundary and allocation rules. Otherwise, a cradle-to-gate production number and a separate use-phase estimate are being mixed.
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What can reduce concrete’s carbon intensity?
Reduce clinker while preserving performance
Use an appropriate blended cement or concrete mix with supplementary cementitious materials where standards, supply and testing support it. The reduction should be verified against fresh and hardened performance rather than assumed from the material name alone.
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Improve kiln and grinding efficiency
Lower thermal energy per tonne of clinker, efficient grinding and process controls reduce fuel or electricity use. The IEA scenario places kiln thermal intensity at 3.4 GJ per tonne of clinker in 2030 and 2.9 in 2050, compared with 3.6 in 2022; these are pathway milestones, not measured requirements for every plant.
Change the thermal energy supply
Alternative and lower-emissions fuels can cut combustion emissions. In the IEA scenario, low-emissions fuels rise from 5% of thermal-energy use in 2022 to 30% in 2030 and 86% in 2050. Fuel availability, kiln compatibility, air-quality controls and local regulation determine what can be implemented at a particular site.
Use cleaner electricity
Reducing electricity demand helps, but the grid factor often matters just as much for the indirect result. Plants and project teams should document the electricity source and use current, geographically relevant factors rather than a single global average.
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Because limestone chemistry releases CO2 independently of fuel choice, carbon capture is part of deep-decarbonisation pathways for emissions that efficiency and fuel switching cannot eliminate. Capture systems add energy, equipment and infrastructure requirements, so their reported benefit must be evaluated within a consistent life-cycle boundary.
A practical checklist for a project carbon assessment
- Define whether the assessment covers cement, binder, concrete or the complete project.
- Set the declared unit and functional performance requirement.
- Obtain clinker content, cement content and mix proportions.
- Separate process CO2, kiln-fuel CO2 and purchased-electricity emissions.
- Document plant location, electricity factor and data year.
- Check the EPD’s PCR, boundary and included life-cycle modules.
- Add transport, construction, maintenance, service life and end-of-life stages when the project question requires them.
- Verify that any lower-clinker mix passes the required strength, durability, workability and curing tests.
- Keep carbonation accounting separate unless the chosen life-cycle method explicitly includes it.
The bottom line for builders and specifiers
Concrete becomes carbon-intensive chiefly through the cement used to make it. Clinker production releases process CO2 from limestone chemistry and fuel CO2 from the heat supplied to the kiln; electricity adds a location-dependent indirect component. There is no single percentage that applies to every concrete mix or plant. The most defensible comparison identifies clinker and cement content, separates process and energy emissions, uses a matching electricity factor, and aligns declared units, PCRs and life-cycle boundaries. Lower-clinker mixtures, efficient kilns, lower-emissions fuels, cleaner electricity and carbon capture all have roles, but each must be evaluated against the concrete’s required performance.
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