Construction in Sweden could grind to a halt after the country's biggest cement plant was stripped of its licence to mine limestone on environmental grounds.
The ruling by the Swedish Supreme Land and Environmental Court last week means that the Cementa plant at Slite in Gotland could be forced to end production on 1 November.
Matilda Hoffstedt, manager of the plant, said the ruling would create "a crisis situation for Swedish cement supply”.
The plant produces around three-quarters of all the cement used in Sweden. It is also the second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the country, responsible for three per cent of all CO2 emissions.
