Cement Manufacturers Association

46 recovery (WHR) System for power co-generation. The main barrier to the large scale adoption of the co-generation technology is the high investment cost. NITI Aayog took up an initiative on the sustainability aspect of growth by transitioning Linear Economy into Circular Economy. Various committees were constituted by NITI Aayog for achieving Circular Economy in different products. Hence, governance involvement through a participatory approach becomes fundamental for the establishment and evaluation of social indicators using life cycle thinking, so that the decision-making process during conception will result in a justified course of action in cases of uncertainty and potential harm. This strategy will be possible when there is cooperation between institutions and other stakeholders, where each would fully exercise their responsibilities and competencies. Sustainable development can be attainable by LCA for better governance of natural resources, more use of renewable energy, alternate fuels and raw materials especially for cement manufacturing industries leading to zero emissions with various innovative alternates available with BAT (Best Available Technology) and best practices, which is over and above the other three pillars of economy, environment and society, which will provide powerful insights for considering the relevant environmental aspects of sustainability. LCA seeks to reduce a product’s negative impacts by assessing the various phases of a product’s life-cycle. It is a relevant, well tested tool that highlights the issues and helps in the decision-making process for sustainable development. For India to decarbonize its cement sector, several challenges exist calling for strategic decision making in the Indian Cement Industry to mitigate climate impacts, including carbon taxes in the future. First, most of CO 2 emissions arise not from energy consumption but process emissions resulting from the chemical reaction of the decomposition of limestone into lime during clinker making. It makes cement a hard-to-abate sector if the process involves the calcination of limestone unless extreme measures are undertaken, such as Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies. Second, these emerging technologies are still not feasible due to high implementation costs, financial barriers, and technology readiness level. Unlike in China, where many plants are state owned and have access to capital, the cement industry in India has to raise capital on its own or be subject to being bought out by international firms that have access to larger, low- cost capital. Moreover, India has an abundance of low-grade limestone but limited high-grade limestone which is used in OPC clinker suitable for construction. India has already started importing limestone for OPC clinker making due to limited reserves of high- grade limestone that presents a dependence on imports and poses raw material risks. This research investigates possible ways to decarbonize on the supply side, demand side, and operational side, and explores the pathways to reach the target emission intensity of 0.35 tonne of CO 2 per tonne of cement to meet the climate goals while considering these constraints. However, India’s pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2070 was one of the most important announcements at COP26. In line with the prime minister’s statement, the federal government recently approved India’s Updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which translates the COP26 announcements into enhanced climate targets. It marks a major step in achieving India’s long-term goal of reaching net zero by 2070. The Government of India has articulated and put across the concerns of developing countries at the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Glasgow, United Kingdom. Further, India presented the following five nectar elements (Panchamrit) of India’s climate action:  Reach 500GW Non-fossil energy capacity by 2030.  50 percent of its energy requirements from renewable energy by 2030.  Reduction of total projected carbon emissions by one billion tonnes from now to 2030.  Reduction of the carbon intensity of the economy by 45 percent by 2030 over 2005.  Achieving the target of net zero emissions by 2070. India has started various remedial measures to minimize the emission of greenhouse Gases by adopting various methodologies: by replacing with low carbon raw materials, fuel, and also by product variations like Composite Cement, Limestone Calcined Clay (LC3), Reducing clinker factor by using low grade limestone, Belite rich Portland cement from low grade limestone,