Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Concrete causes 8% of global emissions.
What if the material holding our cities together could lock carbon away instead?
In this episode of the Climate Confident Podcast, I’m joined by Ana Luisa Vaz, VP of Product at Paebbl, to unpack one of the most overlooked climate challenges hiding in plain sight: cement and concrete.
Unlike power or transport, construction isn’t slowing down. We’re building more cities, more housing, more infrastructure. And cement emits CO₂ by design. Half its emissions come from chemistry, not fuel. You can electrify the kiln and still be stuck with the carbon.
Ana explains how Paebbl is tackling this head-on using accelerated mineralisation. Captured CO₂ is permanently bound into a new cement substitute, locking carbon into concrete itself while maintaining performance and safety. Not offsets. Not future promises. Physical, permanent storage at scale.
We dig into why construction is so conservative, why performance always beats good intentions, and what it really takes to convince engineers, regulators, and cities to trust new materials. You’ll hear why Paebbl can already replace up to 30% of cement today, how cost curves matter more than green premiums, and why digital tools, sensors, and models are finally speeding up innovation in an industry that usually moves at a glacial pace.
We also explore the role of policy and public procurement, the changes the sector needs to unlearn, and whether carbon-negative construction is genuinely achievable this century — or just another climate slogan that collapses under scrutiny.
If you care about climate tech that operates in the physical world, hard-to-abate sectors, and solutions that scale beyond PowerPoint, this conversation matters.
👉 What’s your take? Can concrete become part of the climate solution? Let me know below 👇
🎧 Listen & Subscribe
Climate Confident Podcast:
climateconfidentpodcast.com
Subscribe for weekly conversations on climate tech, decarbonisation, and the energy transition.
⏱️ YouTube Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 – Why Concrete Causes 8% of Global Emissions
00:17 – Welcome + Introducing Ana Luisa Vaz (Paebbl)
00:55 – What Paebbl Does and Why Cement Is the Problem
01:35 – Why Cement Is So Hard to Decarbonise
02:47 – The Chemistry Behind Cement’s Emissions
04:04 – Replacing Cement With Carbon-Storing Materials
05:10 – How Accelerated Mineralisation Works
06:36 – Is This Carbon Permanently Locked In?
08:51 – Why Permanence Matters in Carbon Removal
11:17 – Convincing a Conservative Construction Industry
14:52 – Feedstocks, Scalability, and Waste Streams
16:29 – Cost, Green Premiums, and the Road to Parity
18:15 – Sensors, Digital Twins, and Faster Innovation
21:37 – Regulation, the EU Clean Industrial Deal, and Scale
23:48 – Can We Go Beyond 30% Cement Replacement?
24:35 – Who Will Drive Demand First? Cities vs Corporates
27:10 – What the Construction Sector Must Unlearn
29:21 – Can Construction Ever Be Carbon Negative?
30:22 – What Gives Hope in Hard-to-Abate Sectors
31:27 – A Philosopher for Carbon-Negative Concrete
33:28 – Final Reflections on Decarbonising Construction
34:28 – Where to Learn More About Paebbl
35:04 – Closing Remarks
Concrete causes 8% of global emissions.
What if the material holding our cities together could lock carbon away instead?
In this episode of the Climate Confident Podcast, I’m joined by Ana Luisa Vaz, VP of Product at Paebbl, to unpack one of the most overlooked climate challenges hiding in plain sight: cement and concrete.
Unlike power or transport, construction isn’t slowing down. We’re building more cities, more housing, more infrastructure. And cement emits CO₂ by design. Half its emissions come from chemistry, not fuel. You can electrify the kiln and still be stuck with the carbon.
Ana explains how Paebbl is tackling this head-on using accelerated mineralisation. Captured CO₂ is permanently bound into a new cement substitute, locking carbon into concrete itself while maintaining performance and safety. Not offsets. Not future promises. Physical, permanent storage at scale.
We dig into why construction is so conservative, why performance always beats good intentions, and what it really takes to convince engineers, regulators, and cities to trust new materials. You’ll hear why Paebbl can already replace up to 30% of cement today, how cost curves matter more than green premiums, and why digital tools, sensors, and models are finally speeding up innovation in an industry that usually moves at a glacial pace.
We also explore the role of policy and public procurement, the changes the sector needs to unlearn, and whether carbon-negative construction is genuinely achievable this century — or just another climate slogan that collapses under scrutiny.
If you care about climate tech that operates in the physical world, hard-to-abate sectors, and solutions that scale beyond PowerPoint, this conversation matters.
👉 What’s your take? Can concrete become part of the climate solution? Let me know below 👇
🎧 Listen & Subscribe
Climate Confident Podcast:
climateconfidentpodcast.com
Subscribe for weekly conversations on climate tech, decarbonisation, and the energy transition.
⏱️ YouTube Chapters / Timestamps
00:00 – Why Concrete Causes 8% of Global Emissions
00:17 – Welcome + Introducing Ana Luisa Vaz (Paebbl)
00:55 – What Paebbl Does and Why Cement Is the Problem
01:35 – Why Cement Is So Hard to Decarbonise
02:47 – The Chemistry Behind Cement’s Emissions
04:04 – Replacing Cement With Carbon-Storing Materials
05:10 – How Accelerated Mineralisation Works
06:36 – Is This Carbon Permanently Locked In?
08:51 – Why Permanence Matters in Carbon Removal
11:17 – Convincing a Conservative Construction Industry
14:52 – Feedstocks, Scalability, and Waste Streams
16:29 – Cost, Green Premiums, and the Road to Parity
18:15 – Sensors, Digital Twins, and Faster Innovation
21:37 – Regulation, the EU Clean Industrial Deal, and Scale
23:48 – Can We Go Beyond 30% Cement Replacement?
24:35 – Who Will Drive Demand First? Cities vs Corporates
27:10 – What the Construction Sector Must Unlearn
29:21 – Can Construction Ever Be Carbon Negative?
30:22 – What Gives Hope in Hard-to-Abate Sectors
31:27 – A Philosopher for Carbon-Negative Concrete
33:28 – Final Reflections on Decarbonising Construction
34:28 – Where to Learn More About Paebbl
35:04 – Closing Remarks
