Al-Attiyah Foundation CEO Roundtable discusses heavy industry’s opportunities and challenges to reduce CO2 emissions

The Al-Attiyah Foundation hosted world-renowned experts to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by heavy industry in the race to reduce CO2 emissions.   
Four international guest speakers shared their knowledge and opinions at the Foundation’s 3rd CEO Roundtable discussion of 2019, held in Doha last month.
Hosted by HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, chairman and founder of the Al-Attiyah Foundation, the CEO Roundtable quarterly series allows leaders from Qatar’s key industries to gain direct access to the latest thinking on the chosen energy and sustainable development theme.   
The thought-provoking conversations get to the very heart of the issues and explore potential solutions as the world transitions to a sustainable energy future.
“From my experience, many governments are more concerned about being re-elected than they are about tackling climate change issues.  I hope to see greater collaboration and partnership between government, industry and academia to ensure the very best technologies and stronger alliances are utilised to support a sustainable energy future” said HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, chairman, Al-Attiyah Foundation.
Reducing CO2 emissions from heavy industry whilst meeting the goals of the United Nation’s Paris Agreement is one of the biggest challenges facing governments and industry today.  Paradoxically, as the world strives to achieve growth and prosperity for all, it needs to reduce the environmental impact of the very industries that are at the centre of supporting this growth.
The CEO Roundtable focused on three key heavy industries –  cement, iron and steel and non-ferrous metal production – since approximately 50% of heavy industry’s global greenhouse gas emissions comes from these three sectors. 
Liv Rathe, director (Corporate Climate Office) Norske Hydro, and Board Member of the International Emission Trading Association (IETA), was the first speaker to address the CEO Roundtable attendees.  
Rathe focused her attention on the production and distribution of aluminium, which is the second most widely used metal in the world.    
Demand for aluminium is growing since it is strong, light-weight, and infinitely recyclable - making it a great contribution to a society based on low carbon products such as lighter cars and energy efficient buildings.  However, the carbon footprint of primary aluminium production comes largely from electricity consumption that depends on the energy source.  
In order for aluminium to become a longer-term low carbon option however, the energy source used to produce it, must be sustainable.
The second sector to be addressed during the roundtable was the iron and steel industry. 
This industry is considered to be vital for a country, particularly for its economic development, and is often protected by government tariffs, which has led to an overcapacity in global supply.  
The largest economies of today, the USA, China, and Russia, have vast stores of both iron ore and coal.  Today, the majority of global steel produced from iron ore is largely dependent on coal.
A number of solutions have already been proposed to reduce CO2 emissions in the steel industry.  
Firstly, new business models that support the growth of a circular economy – such as the recycling and repurposing of products - are being suggested.  
Secondly, a great understanding of the role of offsets and natural climate solutions to achieve net zero outcomes is being encouraged.  
Thirdly, strategies are being devised to shape low-carbon growth solutions for resource-rich countries. However, developing initiatives to reduce Scope 3 emissions has been the most challenging for the steel industry. This has been particularly true for mining companies and those that produce the iron ore or coking coal required for steel production.  
Scope 3 emissions relates to all indirect emissions from activities of a company occurring from sources that they do not own or control and often account for the greatest share of the carbon footprint.  
If the objectives of the Paris Agreement are to be achieved, Scope 3 emissions, in particular, need to be reduced and companies can no longer ignore the expectation for them to show accountability
Matthew Bateson, Former Senior Environmental and Corporate Affairs Executive, Rio Tinto,  and second speaker at the CEO Roundtable meeting, addressed the CO2 reduction challenges in the mining and metals sector and concluded: “In my experience working in the mining and metals sector, leaders have come to terms with the need to manage their own emissions created by the production of raw and processed materials, but the idea that there is a level of responsibility for the use of their products, is a much harder concept for them to frame and understand.”
The cement industry was the third sector to be focused on during the roundtable meeting. Cement is the second most consumed commodity worldwide, after water. It is vital for infrastructure development and is usually produced regionally due to high transportation costs.  
Today, most cement is manufactured in developing countries where new infrastructure is being built and urbanisation is taking place.  
Dr Patrick Linke, professor (Chemical Engineering Programme) at the Texas A&M University, shared his views on the cement industry and the current challenges: “around half the world’s cement production is based in China; consequently, China emits about half of the world’s cement emissions!”
Cement is the main ingredient of concrete and its production currently generates approximately 7% of man-made CO2 emissions. At present, a research project is underway in Europe, known as CEMCAP, which has the objective to implement CO2 capture in the European cement industry on a large scale.  
The CEMCAP project is testing and analysing four different technologies for separating CO2 from the cement production process. Successful results could lead to a portfolio of technologies that could create pathways for future climate-friendly cement production with drastically reduced CO2 emissions.
John Drexhage, Energy and Extractives Global Practice Consultant, World Bank, concluded the session by highlighting how it is not possible for a single source renewable energy to replace the energy that is currently derived from non-renewable sources. A combination of various sources of energy will be necessary to combat the adverse effects of climate change.  
This will have to be combined with increased efficiency driven by government regulations, subsidies and taxation. In addition, the quantity of raw materials necessary to produce renewable energy needs to be factored into the equation. For all industries, there are a number of benefits associated with measuring Scope 3 emissions.  
For many companies, the majority of their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and cost reduction opportunities lie outside of their own operations. To meet the United Nation’s target of keeping CO2 emissions beneath a two-degree centigrade rise, changes should happen immediately across the whole value chain of heavy industry.

from Gulf Times https://ift.tt/2r5f7iO