The federal government and Cement Association of Canada have a joint target of net-zero emissions from the construction material by 2050. To achieve it, Ottawa is proposing to disclose the carbon content in its building projects starting this year and cut it by 30 per cent from 2025 onwards; to fund and work on the development of standards and data for measuring and using low-carbon concrete; and to back R&D. (The Logic)

Talking point: Cement production accounts for some 1.5 per cent of annual national emissions, according to federal estimates. That carries over into the concrete used to put up buildings and bridges. The mix can’t travel very far before hardening, so it’s typically produced locally, and the public sector is a big client. “Right now, they’re not applying any kind of criteria around environmental [or] climate considerations,” Eric Dunford, then-government affairs head for CarbonCure, told The Logic earlier this year. New requirements “would put significant pressure on the industry right away to make those changes.” Concrete plants use Dartmouth, N.S.-based CarbonCure’s technology to inject carbon dioxide into their product, cutting its emissions impact; Ottawa’s new roadmap hopes to encourage such domestic innovators as well.