World Steel Says: Global Steel Industry Requires Fairness Amid Decarbonisation

Edwin Basson, director general of worldsteel, said at the Singapore Green Steel Forum on Tuesday that a level playing field is key to keeping global steel trade open while the steel industry faces decarbonization challenges. He noted that discussions are currently underway on harmonized measurement of CO2 emissions and reductions, common principles for standards and brands (such as mass balance methods), and fair trading of steel in decarbonization efforts.

Many steel producers are marketing their own brands of decarbonised steel using mass balance approaches. In most cases, CO2 savings in one part of the production process are bundled together and made available in the form of CO2 savings certificates for products produced in another part of the production process. Harmonised principles have been agreed by worldsteel members and will be used to develop formal guidelines. This will ensure that decarbonisation is promoted in a responsible, transparent way.

The trading of steel has always been open, with 30-40% of output traded between regions. A fair and open system of trade is therefore necessary.”For this to be maintained, we need a rules-based trading environment that ensures a level playing field between producers in different countries,” Basson noted.

Global steel output could see 20-25% growth to 2.4-2.6 billion tonnes by 2050, depending on assumptions around circularity. Most steelmaking countries have committed to having net zero emissions by that time. The global steel industry has set a target for a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050.