# Building materials: Chokepoints and risks

Cement, concrete, bricks, tiles, glass and gypsum board made from quarried minerals

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/risks/

#### Chokepoints and risks

- Carbon cost: cement production accounts for around 8% of global CO2 emissions, much of it from calcining limestone, so carbon pricing and border taxes are the largest long-run risk^[3](https://www.chathamhouse.org/2018/06/why-cement-major-contributor-climate-change).
- Fuel exposure: kilns run largely on imported coal and petcoke, tying costs to global coal prices.
- Sand and aggregate shortages from river-sand mining bans and quarry approvals.
- Fly-ash supply will shrink as coal power is phased down, which threatens blended cements.
- Overcapacity and price wars when consolidators add capacity faster than demand.

## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/index.md)
- [Where ₹100 goes](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/cost-mix/index.md)
- [Price links with suppliers](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/price-links/index.md)
- [Example story](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/story/index.md)
- [Value chain](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/value-chain/index.md)
- [Materials drawn on](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/materials/index.md)
- [Sources](https://www.materialinsights.org/industries/building_materials/sources/index.md)