Evaluating the Use of Alternative Fuels in Cement Production for Environmental Sustainability

This study empirically examines the impact of 30% alternative fuel (AF) adoption on the emission of CO 2 to the environment in the UAE cement industry. The researchers employed a quantitative method to robustly analyze secondary data obtained from the 12 cement manufacturing units of the UAE, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and peer-reviewed published papers. The researcher’s main focus was on data from 2018 to 2024 and aligned that with the UAE Green Agenda 2030. The data analysis was conducted through a well-known software, the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and tests like descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression were employed. The correlation analysis showed that there is a strong negative relationship between AF adoption and CO 2 emissions. The test also showed that the relationship is inverse, that is, increasing the adoption rate of AF lowers CO 2 emissions and thus positively impacts the environment. The Pearson correlation analysis (r = −0.82) showed a strong inverse relationship between the independent and dependent variables. This strong relationship was further revealed and confirmed by the regression analysis, and AF as an individual independent variable explained a 67% reduction in CO 2 emission (R 2 = 0.67), while a combination with mediating variables, such as economic incentives and the integration of advanced technologies, further increased the impact to 83%, where the explanatory power jumped to R 2 = 0.83 ( p < 0.001). As the relationship is strongly inverse between the independent and dependent variables, this reinforces the hypothesis that AF adoption is a good strategy to decarbonize the production of cement and make the operations sustainable.