一个新的加州法律旨在削减国家的绿色house gas related to its cement sector to net-zero emissions by the end of 2045. Experts say it will likely influence federal regulations for cement.

州长加文·纽瑟姆（Gavin Newsom）于9月23日签署了立法，参议院第596号法案或“水泥部门：净零排放战略”，这是针对各种气候和清洁能源努力的新措施的一部分。该法律将于1月1日生效。法律要求加州空气资源委员会（CARB）制定一项战略以达到碳中立目标。它还设定了临时目标，包括到2035年底降低40％的温室气体，尽管它确实允许董事会在2028年中期调整目标。

The new law and strategies could impact national standards, says Dana Palmer, a partner at law firm Allen Matkins who specializes in environmental and natural resources issues. He expects the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could begin its own rulemaking process for cement-related emissions within the next year.

“人们意识到，这种监管过程，即使它只会影响加利福尼亚，也可能对联邦监管过程非常有影响力，尤其是目前在华盛顿特区的志趣相投的政府，它可能会在整个地球上产生连锁反应，“ 他说。

Thomas Tietz, executive of the California Nevada Cement Association, says California’s cement manufacturers are already committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2045, although he adds it will be “extraordinarily difficult.” The group released its own plan for carbon neutrality earlier this year, based on process emissions, combustion emissions/fuel switching and electricity generation. The new law should be able to help the state’s cement sector accelerate its adoption of new technologies, switch to alternative fuels, produce low-carbon blends and add efficiency improvements, Tietz says.

For contractors, AGC of California CEO Peter Tateishi doesn’t expect any major changes from the new law.

“We’ll always meet the specifications based on what it is,” Tateishi says. “It may increase how we bid work, but I don’t think it’ll change how we do the work.”

To develop its strategy, CARB will define a metric for GHG intensity and evaluate 2019 data from cement manufacturing plants to establish a baseline. Then it will evaluate current and new measures to help reach the net-zero goal, working with experts from the industry, government agencies and elsewhere. It will have just 18 months to develop the comprehensive strategy, a timeline that Palmer calls “light speed in the context of governmental regulation.”

Palmer says there will be many public meetings and opportunities for companies in the industry to participate in the process. Because of the short timeline, he recommends that anyone interested — even from outside California — join when the process gets started in early 2022. The cement manufacturers group and AGC of California both intend to work with the air board throughout the process.

“我们要确保,我们mplementing the law, it’s done in a way that won’t impact or harm our ability to do the work that is already in motion and has been bid out,” Tateishi says.

Tietz说，加利福尼亚水泥生产商可以用来减少其温室气体排放，尽管某些州法规实际上使实施它们比其他州更难实施它们。如果水泥厂想使用废热能量，从技术上讲，它将被归类为实用程序，并增加一系列并发症。

“Until we change some of those things, we’re stuck,” he says.

Tietz说，其他有前途的技术仍需要更多的发展，才能由行业广泛实施。他指出碳捕获和存储是有效的一个例子，但目前非常昂贵。

Tietz说，定价是供应商的最大关注点。在加利福尼亚，水泥生产商正在与亚洲进口竞争。

“If any of this becomes too expensive for us to implement, we lose our competitiveness,” Tietz says. “This is all part of the balance that needs to be carefully considered as we move forward.”

该法案指出，CARB将促进州和联邦的激励措施，以减少实施温室气体减少技术和流程的成本，并评估支持市场需求的方式。新利18备用官网登录

“They recognize that inducing market demand for ‘greener’ cement may be necessary,” Palmer says.

帕尔默说，最初的激励措施可能会通过要求低碳水泥来竞标政府合同。如前所新利18备用述，大约40个州点已经接受了新的波特兰 - 铁质石水泥混合物with a 10% lower carbon footprint than traditional portland cement, according to the Portland Cement Association.

State Sen. Josh Becker, a Democrat from Menlo Park, sponsored the bill. He’s working on a follow-up bill he says would add low-carbon concrete to California’s Buy Clean law in order to drive demand for low-carbon cement.

In a statement, Becker said that GHG emissions from cement production contribute about 8 million tons of carbon dioxide in California each year, and that the sector is the second-largest industrial source of GHG emissions in the state behind oil and gas.

贝克尔说：“加利福尼亚现在是推动水泥行业脱碳化的领导者，这是建筑环境中一种至关重要的材料，但占全球所有温室气体排放的7％，是脱碳化最具挑战性的行业之一。”