Calera’s “CO2-Cement” Claim. Is It Bankable?

I was thrilled to know that Silicon Valley start-up company Calera has claimed that it has invented a way wherein it can capture the carbon dioxide emissions from coal and gas power plants, before turning them into cement.

Now, if Calera (funded by noted Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla) can really do it, and that too on a mass scale, then it will be a double benefit for the world. On one hand it will reduce CO2 emissions, and on the other hand it will result in the production of a highly usable commodity. So it is everybody’s guess how important a development it can be. In fact, Calera has claimed that it has already drawn an investment of $15 million from world’s biggest coal company Peabody Energy.

However, there are some experts who are not ready to bank much on this claim. They feel that Calera will not be able to produce large quantities of cement that is both sustainable as well as environment-friendly.

Let’s see what happens. Only time can tell whether Calera will be successful in doing what many players have tried to do for around 15 years.

Effective Implementation of Plastic Bag Ban

Despite a ban on its use in India, plastic bag is very much in use in India. One of my colleagues from Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh is claiming that the ban is very much successful in that state. May be. But that the ban has been not that effective at least in Delhi that is very much established.

Fine. But why are people, mainly the shopkeepers, so unwilling to follow the ban? Is it merely a callous attitude towards the cause of environment? No! We all know that the actual reason is something different.

Actually, all the alternatives for plastic bag, such as jute bag, cotton bag and paper bag are more costly than plastic bag. Using any of such bags in the place of plastic bag will be quite a costly affair for shopkeepers. And it is this factor that is keeping them away from saying good-bye to plastic bag.

So what is the way out? Well, I have a suggestion, if nobody finds it audacious and over-smart. And I also tell in advance that my suggestion may be based on completely faulty and/or impractical logic. In that case I apologize in advance.


Is it very difficult for the Government to subsidize the production of jute and cotton bags? Subsidization will understandably bring down their production costs, eventually reducing their market price as well. And in that case it will be easier for shopkeepers to replace plastic bags with these bags.

Yes, this act of subsidization will result in a financial pressure on the Government. And I also have a suggestion about how to address it (and again I must say that my suggestion can be wrong).


If shopkeepers gradually stop purchasing plastic bags, then the manufacturers of plastic bags will automatically stop or reduce production of such bags, right? And that will eventually result in a significant reduction of CO2 emission, as plastic bag manufacturing results in a huge CO2 emission.

Now, can the Indian Government use this achievement of causing emission reduction to earn some Carbon Credits (the economic allowance that a country earns for reducing greenhouse gas emissions)? And can that economic allowance be used to address the financial pressure that the Government will face while subsidizing the jute and cotton bag manufacturing?

I have just sought to share an idea that came in my mind. I will love everybody to share his views on it.