Policies Critical to Decarbonization in Steelmaking

Despite individual steel mills' own initiatives around the world to reduce carbon emissions from steel production, government policies will be critical to making sustainable and fundamental changes to decarbonization, speakers agreed on November 22 at the SEAISI Sustainability & Construction two-week e-event.



India pledged to reach clean zero by 2070 at COP26, and among efforts to reduce carbon emissions in steelmaking are shifting from coal to clean energy, capturing heat in steelmaking and using more PCI to improve efficiency, Arnab Kumar Khazra, Deputy Secretary General of the Indian Steel Association, shared the panel discussion, and for example, for clean energy, along with the state's electricity, it must be carried out by the government.

However, as is the case with China, where government energy relies heavily on coal, it will be difficult for India to complete the clean energy transition in 5-10 years, even if the government takes the lead, as Mysteel Global understood from its comments.

Yeo Wee-Jin, secretary general of the Southeast Asian Institute of Iron and Steel, agreed, adding that carbon taxes in Singapore and Indonesia, green stamps on housing design and construction in Singapore, and carbon tariffs and border tariffs for Europe's carbon emissions are all government. measures from top to bottom to propel the green steel forward.

He noted that in ASEAN-6 countries, blast furnace steel production increased to 38% of the total capacity by 2019 from an initial 5%, and by 2026 this share may grow to 66%, which was chosen by the market. therefore, to reverse this trend, governments must be the driving forces.

In China, the government has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in decarbonization from the start, as it is the government that set the deadlines for peak carbon emissions by 2030 and zero carbon emissions by 2060, and it is the government that has to push carbon emissions. peak for the steel industry by 2025, as it is the second largest source of carbon emissions after electricity generation.

And to meet the national timeline, Beijing is also finalizing a three-year implementation plan to get the steel industry peaking in carbon emissions by 2025, and is also busy raising the country's energy use to reduce its reliance on coal. although he recognized the necessity and reality that coal will remain the main energy resource for China.

The carbon trading system, which has been up and running for more than 1,000 Chinese power plants, has also been developed and launched in Beijing, as all preparatory work, including qualifications of the bidding power plants, the respective quotas for each power plant have been met. - notes Mysteel Global.

This is not the first time that the Chinese government has initiated the modernization of its steel industry, as over the past 20 years of industrial development, relevant governing bodies have been behind all major events such as the transition from electric arc furnaces to blast furnaces. furnaces, increasing the share of flat products in total steel production, expanding iron and steel capacity, dismantling excess and obsolete capacity to cope with excess capacity, and imposing winter restrictions to combat air pollution.