Decarbonising the steel industry: Reasons to be cheerful

Abstract

Decarbonising the steel industry: Reasons to be cheerful Filip Johnsson, Lisa Göransson and Alla Toktarova, explain why decarbonising the steel industry gives us reasons to be cheerful. In Europe, the steel, cement, chemical, and petrochemical industries, which are vital elements in many strategic value chains in the EU industry, are responsible for around 70% of industrial CO2 emissions (de Bruyn et al., 2020). 11% of industrial CO2 emissions in the UK come from steel production (Make UK, 2022). In 2021, the European Commission presented the ‘Fit for 55’ package intending to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 55% by 2030, as compared with 1990, and to reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. In March 2023, the European Commission proposed the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA), seeking to promote investments in the production capacity of products crucial to meet the EU’s climate neutrality goals.