World Steel Association issues CO2 directive

The World Steel Association has published a public policy document on how the industry can reduce CO2 emissions. The eight-page report focuses on reducing emissions from iron and steel production.

The association's report highlights three steps the industry can take to reduce emissions: improving industry review standards, maximizing scrap utilization, and applying new technologies to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

On average, every metric ton of steel produced resulted in 1.85 metric tons of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere in 2020. In the same year, 1.86 billion metric tons of steel were produced and total direct emissions were 2.6 billion metric tons, or about 7 percent. and 9 percent of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions, according to Worldsteel.

“Steel production continues to be associated with CO2 emissions and energy-intensive production,” the association said in a May 17 statement. “However, the steel industry intends to continue to reduce the impact of its operations and the use of its products. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to drastically reducing CO2 emissions in our industry, and we believe that individual countries are best suited to assess and implement policy and technical strategies based on their specific circumstances. ”

Worldsteel is proposing to implement a process launched by its board of members in 2019 called Step Up. The initiative is an industry-wide performance review process based on best practices, focusing on key performance levers such as raw material quality, energy efficiency, yield and process reliability. The association says that implementing the Step Up methodology can reduce direct and indirect emissions by up to 20 percent for an average steelmaking plant and up to 50 percent for an average scrap metal recycling plant.

The report also predicts that steel from China will start entering the market in the next decade. The association says that because steel mills are also used as recycling plants, the industry can significantly reduce its carbon footprint by recycling it.

“Scrap plays a key role in reducing industrial emissions and resource consumption,” the association said in a report. "Each [metric ton] of scrap used to make steel avoids the emission of 1.5 [metric tons] carbon dioxide and the consumption of 1.4 [metric tons] iron ore, 740 kg of coal and 120 kg of limestone."

Finally, the association says investing in new ways to make low-carbon steel from iron ore will help reduce the industry's carbon footprint. Although the domain name