CCSA ANNOUNCES ‘VISION: NET ZERO CARBON’ BY 2050

Supplied by CCSA

Cement and Concrete SA (CCSA) has noted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) position that parties should act to protect the climate system “on the basis of equality and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities” based on Principle 7 of the Rio Declaration at the first Rio Earth Summit in 1992.

“In response, to comply with CCSA climate change commitments in line with the national NDC and Paris agreement, CCSA member companies aspire to net zero emission by 2050 with milestones informed by decarbonisation along a 1.5-degree trajectory. The key initial milestone will be set at 2030,” says Dr Dhiraj Rama, CCSA Industry Executive.

“The net zero target boundary is based on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventory target as per RSA GHG Technical Reporting Guidelines for the cement sector in line with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reporting framework,” Dr Rama stated.

Dr Rama will provide adequate support, direction and leadership to members and will also monitor progress at sector level. He says key matters to note include:

• The net zero target monitoring covers both Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions of the company.
• With supported technology interventions, as well as improved overall nationally-developed Scope 3 emission monitoring programs implemented by stakeholders, the GHG inventory would be expanded accordingly.
• The trajectory is based on the understanding that the cement sector is a hard-to-abate sector and would be supported by:
  • Technical, technological and fiscal support as per the CCSA overall national NDC commitment to UNFCCC proviso.
  • Appropriate policy implementation and support to secure both green energy and alternate fuels and resources.
  • Optimising operation of current production plants as practically feasible until the end of the plant’s life cycle.
  • All future plants will ensure emission-efficient technologies.
  • Access to carbon offsets.
• The climate response action will be underpinned by “just transition”.
• The overall consolidated CCSA sector performance of the GHG emission profile will be transparent by reporting performance on a regular basis. CCSA will ensure sectoral support to its members to comply with regulatory requirements. Key requirements include compliance to:

• Draft methodological guidelines for quantification of greenhouse gas emissions. The Draft Methodological Guidelines can be downloaded by members of the public at the website link: https://www.environment.gov.za/legislation/gazetted_notices. (Government Notice 135 dated 19 February 2021.)
• Technical Guidelines for the Validation and Verification of Greenhouse Gas Emissions as per “Technical guidelines for monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions by industry: A companion to the South African National GHG Emission Reporting Regulations Version No: TG-2016.1 June 2016.” (Government Notice 1496 dated 12 November 2021.)

For further information: contact Dr Dhiraj Rama on email dhiraj.rama@cemcon-sa.org.za.