Cement, carbon dioxide, and the 'necessity' narrative: A case study of Mexico

•Cement production is a major contributor to global CO2 emissions.•Current CO2 mitigation strategies fail to account for growing consumption.•Using a case study of Mexico, I analyze how cement is consumed and why.•Cement is predominantly consumed in housing where it is not a necessity.•It is shown that industry discursive regulation fosters cement path dependency.

Portland cement production accounts for ∼5-7% of total global anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, the cement industry is an important target for emissions-reduction strategies. However, according to industry projections, global cement demand will increase 43-72% by 2050, with growth concentrated in such economically-developing regions as India, Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America. To the cement industry, the challenge is to simultaneously increase cement production while reducing carbon dioxide emissions. To date, industry efforts have included adoption of eco-efficient technologies, alternative and renewable fuel use, blended cements, and carbon sequestration. Yet little attention is given to the dynamics of cement consumption, especially in projected growth regions. In this paper, I use a case study of Mexico to (1) illustrate how cement is predominantly consumed, and (2) examine the role of the cement industry in promoting cement consumption. Recent scholarship on sustainability transitions provides a conceptual framework for understanding how carbon-intensive socio-technical regimes can transition to lower-carbon alternatives. Discursive regulation provides an analytical lens to understand how power dynamics underlying such regimes often forestall sustainable transitions and keep industries locked in to unsustainable practices. The Mexico case study shows that over 50% of cement is used in housing construction. As well, industry narratives linking cement to modernity, sustainability, and environmentalism serve to normalize cement and make it seem a necessity. The paper highlights how the cement industry uses power to discursively regulate cement consumption, which both fosters socio-technical regime path dependency and prevents the sustainable transition of the industry.