Thread by @caitlinswalec

🆕 Stoked to announce the release of @globalenergymon’s newest report, Pedal to the Metal: No time to delay decarbonizing the global steel sector. 36 pages details here, but I’ll share a few highlights.
globalenergymonitor.org/report/pedal-t…
a🧵 (1/9)

The steel industry faces a big choice: move away from dirty, inefficient plants 🏭 OR risk climate goals and up to $70bn stranded asset risk 💰 (2/9)

Over 60% of global steelmaking capacity in the GSPT uses the BF-BOF method, which is a difficult and expensive process to decarbonize because of the use of metallurgical coal (3/9)

Over 75% of steel capacity currently under construction in the GSPT will also be carbon-intensive BF-BOF steelmaking, potentially locking in carbon emissions for the 40+ year lifetime of each plant without intervention in investment cycles (4/9)

China 🇨🇳 leads steelmaking with over half the world’s capacity (1,023mtpa), followed by Japan 🇯🇵 (117mtpa), and India 🇮🇳 (90mtpa) (5/9)

More than 3/4s of global steel supply now falls under net-zero and low-emissions carbon commitments from steelmaking companies and countries. See #GreenSteelTracker (6/9)

Over the next 1-2 decades, low-emissions tech like @hybrit_project will reach comm scale. Most steel plants will also face reinvestment cycles. The sector needs to carefully manage decisions to prolong assets vs. replace with cleaner tech to avoid locking in emissions. (7/9)

Conclusion: The steel industry needs to put the pedal to the metal on decarbonization with investment and innovation in low-emissions tech, and a clear move away from carbon-intensive steelmaking methods ⏰ #industrialdecarbonization #greensteel (8/9)

Big thanks to my co-author Christine Shearer, and the many folks who offered input and feedback on this report. Happy reading! @rebeccawdell @EfficiencyIntel @pg_levi @H_Mandova (9/9)

And a beautiful cover photo from @DOverview!