According to Business Green, all of the world's governments will have to use the environmentally-friendly alternatives, which they have to implement no later than 2030.

UNIDO specialists estimate that steel and cement alone are responsible for around 50% of the emissions coming from the construction sector.

Governments are the ones buying and using most of these materials, whether it's for the construction of new buildings, creating or repairing roads, railway infrastructure or other projects.

This is why, if they start using more eco-friendly alternative materials, companies and researchers will be more inclined to look into new options for this market.

One solution which we presented recently is using personal protection equipment for making concrete, which should solve the problem waste created by these products.

Also, researchers at Cambridge University have invented the world's first net-zero cement, which should bring significant contributions to the decarbonization of the building industry.

Rana Ghoneim, head of UNIDO's Energy Systems and Industrial Decarbonization Unit, stated that "all actors must accelerate progress towards net-zero goals."

"Government commitments to buy green can make a pivotal difference", she added.

Tareq Emtairah, director of UNIDO's Decarbonization and Sustainable Energy Division, also said that "steel, cement and concrete are the building blocks of our modern world. Demand for these materials is high and rising but they are also responsible for the largest share of industrial greenhouse gas emissions."

At last year's COP26 in Glasgow, officials agreed that publicly-funded construction projects that make use of steel, concrete and cement should monitor and disclose all carbon emissions coming from these materials, with an ultimate goal to make these buildings net-zero by 2050.