Plant-level real-time monitoring data reveal substantial abatement potential of air pollution and CO2 in China’s cement sector

China is the world’s greatest cement producer, generating significant air pollution and CO2 emissions. To combat these impacts, China introduced stricter air pollution standards for the cement industry in 2015, yet no plant-level analysis exists to determine their effectiveness. To analyze the impacts of emission regulations, we coupled 2014–2018 smokestack-level real-time observations with plant-specific information and constructed an hourly based dataset of air pollutants (particulate matter [PM], sulfur dioxide [SO2], nitrogen oxide [NOX]) and CO2 emissions. Our analysis shows that regulations introduced in 2015 led to PM, SO2, and NOX reductions of 50.3%, 43.6%, and 34.2%, respectively, but CO2 increased by 5%. Interestingly, 9.4% of the plants analyzed reached China’s 2020 ultralow air pollution standards in 2018. Further analysis shows that if small and old plants are phased out and all remaining plants implement advanced equipment and improve fuels and energy efficiency, PM, SO2, NOX, and CO2 could be further reduced by 68.8%, 66.1%, 82.2%, and 62.0% by 2060. Our results reveal the co-benefits of clean air and climate policies for cement production.