12 June 2025

Vietnam: The government will allocate greenhouse gas emission quotas to cement and steel plants and thermal power facilities by 31 December 2025, following a new decree issued on 9 June 2025, which takes effect on 1 August 2025. These facilities will receive quotas during the 2025–2026 period. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in coordination with the ministries of industry and trade and construction, will lead the pilot proposal process and submit total allowable emissions to the prime minister for approval. Quotas for each plant must be finalised by the end of 2025. From 2027, ministries will propose lists of facilities and quotas for 2027–2028 and 2029–2030, with submissions due by 30 June of the first year of each period. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment will allocate quotas by 31 October annually once approved.

Quotas will be based on emission intensity per unit of product, industry growth targets and each facility’s potential to reduce emissions. Facilities may trade quotas and carbon credits on the national market. The decree also revises rules on trading, borrowing, transferring and surrendering quotas. Facilities must surrender quotas equal to verified emissions, minus carbon credit offsets, by 31 December following each compliance period. Penalties and future deductions will apply to those who fail.

Cameroon: A new cement brand, Cimaco, has entered the market, starting in June 2025, according to the Business in Cameroon newspaper. Chinese-owned company Sinafcam Sarl made the announcement, stating that it will produce the cement at its 1Mt/yr-capacity plant in Edéa, Littoral region. The launch will include three product grades: 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5. Sinafcam becomes the country’s seventh cement producer.

The Ministry of Industry expects two additional Chinese plants in Edéa: Central Africa Cement with 1.5Mt/yr of capacity and Yousheng Cement with 1.8Mt/yr. However, despite the rise in production facilities over the past decade, the retail price of a 50kg cement bag still remains high, reportedly due to the elevated cost of clinker imports.

US: A research team led by the University of Michigan’s Charles McCrory, in collaboration with the University of California, Davis (UCD) and the University of California, Los Angeles, has developed a process to capture CO₂ and convert it into metal oxalates for use in cement production. The method uses electrodes to transform carbon dioxide into oxalate, which binds with metal ions and precipitates as a solid suitable for alternative cement. The researchers reduced the required lead catalyst to parts per billion by modifying the polymer environment around the catalyst, mitigating environmental risks. The researchers next want to focus on scaling up the process and are working on electrolysis on a large scale.

UCD associate professor Jesús Velázquez said “Metal oxalates represent an underexplored frontier – serving as alternative cementitious materials, synthesis precursors and even carbon dioxide storage solutions.”

India: Renaatus Group subsidiary Renaatus Procon will invest US$29m in the first phase of a new fibre cement board plant in Andhra Pradesh. The facility is due for commissioning in 2026, and will have a production capacity of 60,000t/yr. The plant will supply the construction sector in southern India and export markets, supporting the group’s expansion into sustainable building materials.

Vietnam: Vietnam produced 73.4Mt of cement in the first five months of 2025, up by 13% year-on-year, according to the National Statistics Office. In May 2025, output reached 17.3Mt, marking a 25% year-on-year rise. In 2024, Vietnam produced 184Mt of cement, up by 3.5% year-on-year.