Decarbonizing the steel sector

From buildings, to cars, to domestic appliances and other equipment, steel is a key component of our societies, and will also be essential for the energy transition as it will be needed to build infrastructure and products such as wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles.  

However, the steel sector is the largest industrial emitter of CO2 due to its reliance on coal. Steel decarbonization needs to start now to avoid locking-in emissions from building new coal-based facilities or refurbishing existing ones. Thanks to new technologies, steel can be decarbonized in time to reach net zero by 2050.  

Financial institutions finally have an opportunity to back their repeated calls for climate action that’s not just focused on fossil fuel supply with action. They must now stop supporting metallurgical coal and the steelmaking process that uses it, and urge clients and investee companies to develop steelmaking capacity based on cleaner technologies.