The recognition of concrete's ability to absorb atmospheric carbon in the latest IPCC climate report means climate change "is worse than we thought," according to Cambridge University materials scientist Darshil Shah.
Shah contacted Dezeen in response to last week's story reporting that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified cement infrastructure as a carbon sink.
"We are very concerned about the incorrect message [the story] gives, particularly in the run-up to the COP26 climate conference and given the urgency for climate action," Shah said.
The IPCC report points out that around half the carbonate emissions from cement production are reabsorbed by concrete structures.
But Shah said these emissions are "only a fraction" of the total produced by the cement industry, which is estimated to produce around eight per cent of all global greenhouse gases. Darshil Shah said he was "a bit frustrated" with the IPCC report
Concrete surfaces naturally absorb atmospheric carbon via a process called mineral carbonation.
This "cement carbonation sink" absorbs an estimated 200 million tonnes of carbon every year, according to the landmark IPCC report published earlier this month ahead of the Cop26 climate conference.
??"The uptake of CO2 in cement infrastructure (carbonation) offsets about one half of the carbonate emissions from current cement production," the report says.
In reality, Shah said, carbonation...