The Western Governors鈥� Association has been holding a series of discussions aimed at developing new methods and policies to 鈥淒ecarbonize the West.鈥� These include developing ways to reduce, use and capture carbon.
The are focused on developing policies and strategies for Western states. One of the most significant efforts is looking at how government buildings have been built.
, a Canada-based company, has developed a method of reducing carbon output from buildings. Vice President, Chris Davis explained the company's 鈥渃arbon cure鈥� process.
鈥淭hink of cake batter, that鈥檚 the concrete," he said. "And the flour that goes into the cake batter is the cement. So cement is really the key component in the concrete process that creates all the greenhouse gas emissions. It鈥檚 where climate impact for concrete lives."
The process of injecting the CO2 in the early stages results in carbon mineralization, allowing for less cement material and lower carbon emissions while allowing carbon to be captured and stored indefinitely.
David Hildebrandt with the said efforts to move toward greener options must include refining policies and creating value for industries that opt to be early adaptors and use less carbon.
鈥淚n the near term, we鈥檙e looking at ways to be able to reduce the energy demand and the cost of making CO2 neutral fuels and chemicals," Hildebrandt said. "In the intermediate term, we鈥檙e looking at how we can actually put CO2 into building materials and at least be able to sequester it for a hundred years.鈥�
The Western Governors鈥� Association is expected to release their recommendations by June.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .
