Potentials of energy efficiency improvement and energy–emission–health nexus in Jing-Jin-Ji’s cement industry

China produces 52% of the global cement supply, and cement production accounts for 8% of China’s total energy consumption. Moreover, 4% of China’s total cement share is contributed by Jing-Jin-Ji (JJJ). In this study, we developed and used an integrated nexus framework that involves multiple tools to quantify the potential for energy efficiency improvements, for CO2 and air pollutant emission reduction, and for public health benefits in relation to air pollution of the JJJ’s cement industry at different scales from 2010 to 2030. Results show that the overall cost-effective energy efficiency measure implemented for energy efficiency improvement under the economic potential scenario could result in 21% energy savings, 8% reduction in CO2 emissions, 13% reduction in air pollution, 0.5 μg/m3 reduction in average annual PM2.5 concentration, and in avoidance of morbidity in 17,000 individuals in the JJJ region. Under the technical potential scenario, the implementation of all the best available technologies for energy efficiency improvement would result in 23% energy savings and in reduction in CO2 emission by 5%, in air pollution by 16%, in PM2.5 by 0.2 μg/m3, and in morbidity by 58%. At the prefecture level, the cities of Tangshan, Xingtai, and Shijiazhuang were the top three contributors to the potential for energy saving and to the mitigation of CO2 emissions and air pollution, whereas Beijing and Tianjin demonstrated a limited potential. Overall, the direct energy-saving benefits could be 15–47% lower than the cost of the energy efficiency measures in both scenarios, but the full benefits (i.e., energy savings benefit, CO2 reduction benefits, and health benefits) would be 1.3–3.6 times higher than the total costs during the study period. We recommend the design and implementation of an integrated policy (integrating carbon, air quality, and health elements into energy efficiency), which would create more opportunities to address multiple challenges in a cost-effective manner, for instance by increasing energy efficiency, cleaning the air, and extending human life.