Publication Details
Abstract
This study examines whether Uzbekistan’s expanding construction-materials industry has achieved measurable improvements in energy efficiency and decarbonisation. It analyses official cement-production statistics for 2022–2025, Uzbekistan’s First Biennial Transparency Report and regulatory documents using growth rates, intensity proxies, decoupling arithmetic and evidence triangulation. Cement output increased from 11.36 million tonnes in 2022 to 16.01 million tonnes in 2024—an overall rise of 40.9%. Comparable first-half production grew by 59.8% between 2023 and 2025. Meanwhile, sectoral energy consumption and energy intensity reportedly declined by factors of 1.3 and 1.6. An internal consistency check shows that a 1.2-fold production increase combined with a 1.6-fold intensity decline implies an aggregate energy-use reduction of about 25%, close to the separately reported 23.1% decrease. Construction-materials process emissions reached 23.4 Mt CO₂-eq in 2022, of which an estimated 3.42 Mt was associated with cement clinker. The analysis further shows that, with output 40.9% higher, carbon intensity would need to fall by at least 29.0% merely to keep absolute emissions unchanged. Qizilqumsement’s modernisation reduced specific gas use by up to 13% and electricity use by 5%. The findings demonstrate credible relative efficiency gains but do not confirm absolute decarbonisation. A digital MRV system, plant benchmarking, verified green financing, clinker-substitution measures and staged deep-decarbonisation instruments are recommended.