Over 5% of global CO2 emissions from man comes from plain old contrete.

For every tonne of concrete, 1/2 tonne of CO2 is produced from the chemical reaction and another 1/3rd of a tonne of CO2 from the fossil fuels used to heating calcium carbonate to 1400 degrees C.

During the Soviet Union era they developed a concrete based on Geopolymers. This technology has been rediscovered by Australians. It raw materials are fly ash and slag waste from fossil fueled power stations – great recycling – and works at room temperatures. This technique produces 80% less CO2 than traditional concrete.

considering that in Southwark we have so many regeneration schemes that will require huge quantities of concrete – Elephant & Castle, Canada Water, Bermondsey Square, London Bridge, Blackfriars Road – we need to reduce the embedded energy of all these schemes.

So when will this technology reach our shores helping us make the 80% CO2 reduction we need to make to avoid catastrophic global warming?