Cement, Energy and Environment July-Sep 2002

i\1 ·\KI'\JG THE SWITCH , (hdur Ra::.::.aq Thaplawal, Luck~- ( 'ement. Pakistan . To accommodate capac ity under-ut ilisation and hi gh production costs. Pakistan's cement indus try is looking fo r ways to improve ea rn ings. Produ cts arc g iving priority to find ing ways of reduc ing fue l costs, name ly by swit ching to a coal - a method championed by Lucky Cement. He re fo ll ows a rev iew of th e country's domestic industry, putting the use of coa l into context alongs ide othe r recommended initiat ives. ('ourtesy: International Cement Reriew/June 2002, Pp .J3 - 46. Fa.x: +4./ (O) 1306 740660 Email: info@CemNel.co.uk . Web: wwlv.CemNet.com A VOLUNTARY EFFORT TO PROMOTE \ LTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES IN THE US GOES INTO OVERDRIVE Clwndrachur Ghosh When the Supreme Court had ordered the Del hi government to run it s buses on CNG (compressed nat ural gas), the directi ve was sought to be circumvented on the pretext that natural gas technology was not p rove n and options available we re too few. The wide va ri ety of new generat ion a lternative fuel vehic les (AFVS) showcased in the e ight Nationa l Clea n Ci ti es Confe rence at Oklahoma City in the US, however, gives the lie to such claims. Whi le Toyota proudly announced the zooming sales of its hybrid e lectric car at the meet, General Motors di vulged detail s about its own AFVS. Nissan went to town on its zero -emi ss ion veh icles and Ford highl ighted its role in creating partnershi ps and infrast ru c ture fo r t\FVS. Bu t Honda's t<lgl ine for its CNG cnr - emissions are the only thing it lacks - said it all . Organised by the US depa rtment of energy (DOE) from May 11- 16, 2002, the conference discussed the issue of promoting the usc of A r vs, at the S311 1t:: ti me look ing at fut ure possi biliti es. Cu rrent op ti ons and new in nova ti ons we re c ri tica ll y anal ysed, as was the likeli hood of comme rc ia li s ing eme rg ing technologies. The US conclave is a regular meeting point of citizens, auto manufac ture rs, local administrators and policymakers at the national level. Courtesy: Down to Earth, July 15, 2002, Pp36-37, Fax: 91-1 1-6085879, E-mail: cse@c:seindia. org Web: www.cseindia. org CHINA CHALLENGE Anna Whitehorn With Beijing appointed as the host c ity for the 2008 Olymp ic Games, the cement groups present in China are set to reap the benefits of the resulting upsurge in demand. This is particularly true for Lafarge. Last month ICR was invited to the official opening of the Dujiangyan cement plant and here reports on the implementations of its three major Chinese projects, proving that to be a major world player, you have to be influ-ential there. . Courtesy: International Cement Review. July 2002 P25, E-mail: info@CemNel co. uk IVeb site: CemNet. co. uk TlJRKISH CEMENT EN\ IRONMENTAL NEWS Tota ll y 27 plants which are Turkish Cement Manufact ure rs' Assoc iation (TCMA) members, inc lud ing 19 integrated cement factories and 8 grinding-packaging plan ts, have received the ir emission permits. The latest cement plants whic h have rece ived emi ss ion perm its arc Set-A fyon, Sct-Balikesir and Bolu. It is expected that in one year time all ofthe TCMA members will comple te recei v ing the ir em ission permits. ~E\\ S FRO I\ I EUROPE Council Agrees to Environmental Dimension in Puhlic Procurement Legislation EU Inte rnal Market Ministers have accepted the Commiss ion· s proposal that environ menta l considerat ions be g iven a lega l foo ting in pub lic procuremen t decisions. The question rema ining to be answered is to wha t extent pub lic authorities will be able to include environmental criteria when awa rdi ng contrac ts. Ministers reached a so-ca ll ed " Political Agreement" on 2 I May 2002. Climate Change-Emission Trading: the Response from the Cement lnduslly Over the last 30 years, through tec hno logical change and investment, the European Cement industry has improved its energy efficiency by over 30 % and consequent ly reduced its CO, emissions. Now, as contribution to resolve the climate change issue, CEMBUREAU, the European Cement Associat ion, expresses the co llecti ve wi ll of its members to furthe r reduce, whe re viable, the C0 2 intensity of its prod ucts. European Case Law Develops on Waste Incineration and Shipments The European Court ofJustice has recently de livered two highly signi ficant rulings on EU waste legis lation. The fi rst re lates to European ru les on shipments of waste and gives the firs t interpretation of what constitutes waste recovery (as opposed to disposal) under Regulation 259/93 on the shipme nt of waste. The distinct ion is important because, under the 1993 law, waste clestined fo r recovery enjoys freer cross- ' -