Lehigh Cement Plant, on the…

Lehigh Cement Plant, on the shore of the Bay of Quinte, is holding public info sessions to qualify for an investment tax credit announced in the federal Emissions Reduc4on Plan. Environment Canada admits that we have not yet even begun to lower our total na4onal emissions of more than 730 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
Lehigh is joining with high emiTng corpora4ons (including oil and gas sector) around the world that intend to use CCUS (carbon capture, u4liza4on and storage) technologies to qualify for the tax credit. They will subs4tute non-recyclable wastes, plas4cs, papers and wood for some of the fossil fuels in their produc4on in addi4on to the high levels of natural gas they have always used. So far, some of these methods have been found to be emiTng more carbon than they capture.
- Cement produc4on is one of the highest emiTng industries.
- the cement industry is responsible for 7% of overall CO2 emissions worldwide
- 2/3 of the CO2 released in cement produc4on comes from the chemical process of crea4ng "clinker” from limestone, which is the fuel used to make cement, and only 1/3 is released during the hea4ng process;
- burning the non-recyclable garbage in the kilns s4ll produces CO2; it is just offset by the corresponding reduc4on of emissions in the landfills
It appears the only goal being met by replacing fossil fuels with garbage in the kilns is to reduce the amount of landfill -- not the reduc4on of CO2 emission in cement produc4on.
Locally, a major nega4ve impact of incinera4ng garbage is the smoke produced includes acid gases, dioxin & furans (carcinogens), par8culates, heavy metals, and nitrogen oxide. These gases are poisonous to the environment and to human health.
CCUS is not economically viable. Even If it were financially prac4cable, it would take precious resources away from other proven technologies such as renewable energy. In other words, by the 4me we develop new CCUS to a scale where it would have any significant impact, it will likely be too late.
If the government is going to commit over $9 billion towards climate ac4on, it needs to be targeted to programs that will quickly and effec4vely reduce emissions.