How to Cut Steel Industry’s CO2 Emissions & Climate Threat
RMI unveils guidance for product-level carbon accounting, empowering companies and steel companies to accelerate the decarbonization of a sector that accounts for ~7 percent of global greenhouse gases.
RMI’s Climate Intelligence has published guidance for steel companies to report and reduce the impact of their products on greenhouse gas emissions, giving them a competitive advantage as the preferred supplier to companies with ambitious climate targets. The guide was developed in collaboration between RMI and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Product-level guidance on steel emissions is essential to removing the confusion and complexity that has blocked the decarbonization of this highly emitting industrial material. The steel industry is responsible for 7 percent of global greenhouse gases (GHG), if it were a country its emissions would be the third highest in the world. Its emissions would be the third highest in the world.
The Emissions Reduction Accounting Guide is a fundamental element of RMI’s Horizon Zero project, which accelerates the decarbonization of supply chains by making it possible to understand the impact of corporate purchases and sales on greenhouse gas emissions.
The Emissions Reduction Accounting Guide is a fundamental element of RMI’s Horizon Zero project, which accelerates the decarbonization of supply chains by making it possible to understand the impact of corporate purchases and sales on greenhouse gas emissions.
Steel product-level emissions reporting enables buyers, investors and other stakeholders to understand the decarbonization strategies they can collectively apply to reduce the steel sector’s climate impact:
- Increase in Scrap – Steelmakers can show their support for recycling by reporting the recycled content of their products as much as possible given the global supply of scrap.
- Deployment of low-emission ore processing technology – The incorporation of low-emission technologies such as green hydrogen-based abatement will result in measurable emission reductions. This will be reflected in the emissions reporting of the ore-based supply chain segment and will help differentiate the products of sustainable steelmakers.
- Use of zero-emission electricity – The incorporation of renewable energy into manufacturing processes will further reduce emissions from scrap as a large and increasing proportion of this material is processed in electric arc furnaces.
“The Steel Emissions Reporting Guidelines highlight a critically important difference in emissions from ore-based and scrap-based manufacturing, which account for 93 percent and 7 percent of steel industry emissions, respectively. Increasing the market share of scrap-based steel is necessary for climate protection, but supply is limited and relies on the recycling of end-of-life material. We need clear emissions calculations that can support both increased recycling and the deployment of new technologies,” said Lachlan Wright, steel sector leader for RMI’s Horizon Zero project.
The guidelines are particularly relevant to the global automotive industry as key players strive to reduce their emissions in the supply chain while accelerating the development of electric vehicles.
“Steel accounts for 20 percent of emissions in the automotive sector, and connecting those emissions is a critical step to drive decarbonization. With this draft guidance, now open for public comment, we can ensure we are working towards a carbon accounting system that enables companies to truly measure and reduce their primary emissions – a key goal we are working on with the Partnership for Carbon Transparency move forward,” said Anna Stanley, Director, Climate Transparency at WBCSD.
If successfully implemented at scale, the steel product-level emissions accounting policy will accelerate the use of lower-emission steel across the global economy – including the infrastructure needed to build a clean energy future.
It’s time to decarbonize hard-to-reduce sectors like steel, aluminum and petrochemicals.
learn how @RMImissions is working to do just that #HorizonZero: https://t.co/VZrsAq3gaw
— RMI (@RockyMtnInst) September 6, 2022
© 2021 Rocky Mountain Institute. Released with permission. Originally posted on RMI Outlet.
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