Historical air pollutant emissions and future sustainable pathways of global cement plants.

• Air pollutant emissions from the global cement plants have decoupled from clinker production between 1990 and 2020. • The hotspots of air pollutant emissions are gradually shifting towards emerging economies. • Historically, emission controls have offset the rise in NO x emission intensity due to technical turnover. • Stricter emission standards in the cement industry of emerging economies are essential to reverse emission increase from growing demand. • Ongoing efforts to strengthen emission controls in the cement industries of China and developed countries are crucial for further sustainability. Assessing historical emission trajectories and forecasting future changes at the unit level for the global cement industry are vital for summarizing past experiences in green management and designing a plant-by-plant transition roadmap. Here, we evaluate the evolution of major air pollutant emissions during 1990−2020 and explore mitigation pathways for future sustainable development, based on a developed unit-level global cement emissions database. Our findings indicate that strengthening emission standards is an effective strategy for decoupling air pollutant emissions from clinker production, particularly for emerging economies. Without stringent emission controls, these economies contributed to 49.1%, 39.8% and 74.1% of SO 2 , NO x , and PM 2.5 emissions in 2020. With stricter standards, emerging economies can achieve a 0.6 Mt NO x emission reduction despite a 70% growth in cement demand from 2020 to 2060. By deepening mitigation efforts, China and developed countries can reduce NO x and PM 2.5 emissions by 1.4 and 0.9 Mt, respectively, by 2030. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]