Building materials can play a crucial role in the fight against climate change. A study published on Science.org shows that completely replacing traditional building materials with carbon sequestering materials could store up to 16,6 billion tons of CO2 annually. This is equivalent to about half of global CO2 emissions in 2021. This approach offers an opportunity to achieve net-zero emissions and limit global warming.
Building materials as carbon sinks
The appeal of building materials lies in their large-scale use and long-term lifespan. Concrete aggregates, bricks, asphalt, wood and bio-based plastics are at the heart of this solution. While traditional manufacturing processes often result in significant carbon emissions, the application of carbon sequestration technologies such as carbon-rich aggregates, biochar in cement and biomass fibres in bricks can reverse this pattern.
For example, concrete aggregates have a relatively low carbon storage per kilogram, but due to the huge demand for concrete, they offer the greatest potential for total storage. Bricks with biomass fibers and wood with improved sustainable management can achieve additional CO2 reductions.
Potential and challenges
The implementation of carbon sinks could theoretically store more than 1200 billion tons of CO2 by 2100, if large-scale deployment begins from 2025. While this potential is large, there are challenges:
- Raw materials and infrastructure: Innovations such as biochar, carbon-rich aggregates and bio-based plastics require new value chains and large-scale feedstock production.
- Economic feasibility: Carbon storage materials compete with traditional materials on price and scalability.
- Performance and regulations: For some materials, such as carbon-binding cements, sustainability and performance have not yet been sufficiently investigated. Policy frameworks and standards to stimulate these new materials are also often lacking.
Opportunities for policy makers
Policymakers can play a key role by promoting carbon storage materials, especially in non-load-bearing applications such as insulation, paving and flooring. In addition, subsidies, regulations and performance-based standards can accelerate the use of these materials.
