manilatimes69d ago
THE Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (Cemap) is working on a decarbonization roadmap to be presented at the Asean Summit to be held this year in Cebu and Bohol.”Our target is to reduce carbon footprint [in the country],” Cemap president John Reinier Dizon said over the weekend.A decarbonization roadmap is an action plan that outlines specific steps, milestones, and timelines for an organization, industry, or government to reduce carbon emissions toward net-zero or near-net-zero levels. It serves as a practical manual for transitioning from high-carbon operations to sustainable practices.Cemap is collaborating with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido) on the plan, which will be completed before the end of February, Dizon said.Last year, Cemap participated in a Unido workshop on decarbonization in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry.It promoted South-South Cooperation (SSC), a framework for collaboration among countries in the Global South, or developing, low-income, or historically marginalized countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania.The SSC focuses on sharing knowledge, skills, technology, and resources to achieve development goals. It acts as a partnership for economic, social, and technical cooperation, rather than traditional aid, aiming for mutual benefit and collective self-reliance.The Philippines is part of a regional effort to scale practical, locally adapted decarbonization solutions across Southeast Asia.Cemap’s goal is to decarbonize the country’s cement industry with less carbon emissions, Dizon said. “We want to increase the use of alternative fuels. In cement production, we use a lot of fuel and coal, which are fossil-based. It emits carbon dioxide.”Excessive carbon dioxide emission causes global warming and climate change by trapping heat, leading to rising sea levels, extreme weather, and ecosystem disruption.Alternative fuels, such as SUPs or single-use plastics found in garbage, will be helpful, Dizon said, explaining that SUPs do not produce dust in cement plants.“With filters, this will control pollution,” he pointed out.“In the production of cement, we want to use less clinker,” he said.A cement clinker is the hardened, pebble-like, dark grey, intermediate material that is ground up to make finished cement. It is like a raw rock that holds the magic binding ingredients needed to make concrete stick together.Cement clinker production is harmful to the environment due to high greenhouse gas emissions.“We want the government to prefer the use of low carbon cement,“ Dizon said.The decarbonization roadmap, Dizon noted, is aligned with the New Government Procurement Reform Act (Republic Act 12009), which enhances efficiency, sustainability, and transparency via digital technology for faster processes, and prioritizes sustainable, eco-friendly, and value-for-money procurement across all government branches.The Tatak Pinoy Act, which aims to strengthen the local economy by making local businesses more globally competitive by promoting locally made products as symbols of quality, innovation, and sustainability, is likewise aligned with the roadmap, Dizon said.
