Can technology and market forces drive decarbonization?
An analysis of the impact of human activity on carbon dioxide emissions, shows that transportation and electricity generation are by far the two main culprits, making up 27% and 25% respectively. The electrification of transportation and the transition to renewable energies, which are also the cheapest form of electricity production, are essential to curbing the climate emergency, which is the main threat to life on the planet.
After transportation and electricity production, the third culprit is industry, which contributes 24%. Within industry, two intrinsically human activities leave a huge footprint: metallurgy, specifically the production of iron and steel, with 10%, and building materials such as cement and concrete, with 8%. These are also hugely significant and growing contributions, whose emissions we must also reduce, but which in themselves represent a major challenge.
Recently, a number of companies have launched initiatives to achieve this. In cement and building materials in general, Switzerland seems to be taking a leading role, but there are companies, from startups to traditional players, with some interesting ideas. In metallurgy, the use of electricity or hydrogen in blast furnaces offers promising results, while some other companies are working on reusing carbon dioxide generated from coal burning they…
