Cement accounts for significant global carbon emissions, and these emissions need to decrease quickly. But cement and concrete are often treated as the same material in the climate debate. This makes it harder to understand where emissions come from and what we can already do about them. Cement is one of the ingredients in concrete, together with water, aggregates, and often alternative binders and admixtures. It is also responsible for most of concrete’s carbon footprint. The distinction matters because cement and concrete offer different opportunities to reduce emissions.
