The event, which featured nine global steel experts, came as global steel emissions have more than doubled since 2000. Panelist Kyung-sik Kim said the leading reason for increased emissions is the growing level of steel production but also, more importantly, the copious amounts of coal used to manufacture it. When coal is combined with iron ore, it produces large amounts of carbon dioxide, or CO2.
“To see the future of steel, we need to look to the past,” said Kim, who was a longtime senior executive at Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel and currently heads South Korea's Steel Scrap Center. He noted that while societies have been making and relying on steel for millennia, the Industrial Revolution supercharged steel's usage.
Together, the panelists shared four key Edge aimed at stymying global temperature increases and preventing the worst effects of climate change. First, they posited that multiple technologies for producing lower carbon steel exist—including electrolysis and clean hydrogen—though not without added costs. Second, they noted that steelmakers and sustainability must compromise on both cost and emissions when it comes to implementing regulation. As Chris Bataille, an adjunct research fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs, said, “Decarbonization is not about just one technology or one part of the process.”
Third, panelists called for a consensus definition of both green steel and green iron. While work to pin down exactly what green should mean started in the European Union and India, the conversation is far from global. Many panelists advocated for a production tax credit for green iron, but for that, a clear definition is needed, they said. Last, the panelists recommended that a just transition for steel should include resources for educational and training programs. They specifically emphasized the need for educational programs to train people in new steel technologies in India and China, where the demand and development of steel is growing.