Role of Fuel Switching in the Decarbonization of Pakistan’s Cement Industry

The cement industry is at the core of global economic and infrastructure development accounts, but it also accounts for 7% to 9% of total emitting CO2 For Pakistan, it is a major consumer of coal, emitting 8.9 Mt of CO2 annually, resulting in nearly 49% of the country’s coal While several strategic initiatives are being adopted to lower conventional fuel consumption in the cement sector such as an increased shift towards solar energy deployment, initiating the shift from coal to alternate materials, but a well-regulated alternative fuel policy framework across cement production processes remains a clear gap in the industry’s decarbonization efforts. Given this challenge, this study conducts a scenario-informed quantitative evaluation using the Low-Emission Analysis Platform (LEAP) to explore the decarbonization potential of fuel switching in Pakistan’s cement industry, aligning it with NDC, Net-zero, and energy transition targets. The results reveal that swapping out coal and petroleum coke for cleaner alternatives would be necessary for reducing emissions by 13.5 Mt under the NDC scenario and 17.1 Mt for net-zero by 2050. However, achieving these targets requires a well-defined policy framework, regulatory support for Refuse-Derived Fuel (RDF) and Tire-Derived Fuel (TFD), building a sustainable biomass chain and quality control units, and capital investment in cleaner fuels.