The greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon resulting from the exchange of energy between the sun and the earth. Without this heat absorbed by the atmosphere, the planet's surface temperature would be around 30°C lower than it is today.

Human activities (transport, agriculture, chemical, steel and cement industries, etc.) generate complementary quantities of greenhouse gases (mainly CO₂) resulting in extreme weather phenomena. It is imperative to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

CCS is short for Carbon Capture and Storage. CCS targets reducing the emission of CO₂ to the atmosphere. CO₂ is captured from a point of emission, then transported and permanently stored in underground geological formations.

The Paris Agreement central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1,5°C.

It is absolutely safe to store large amounts of CO₂ on the Norwegian continental shelf. Heidelberg Materials collaborates with partners having thorough experience from storing CO₂ in the North Sea. CO₂ is injected into deep underground rock formations, usually at depths of one kilometer or more. Surveillance programs show that there is no CO₂-leakage from the storing.

CO₂ will be used in other industrial processes. However, there are no large-scale opportunities yet for utilizing the large quantities of CO₂ that will be captured. CO₂-storage is needed in the near future.

This is clearly what we're already doing. Concrete (made of cement, aggregates and water) is the second most widely used commodity in the world, right after water. The demand for this essential building material is significant and will continue to play a crucial role for modern societies. In some applications, clinker-based cement cannot be replaced.