We spoke with Saerok Jeong, Senior Research Associate at Next Group, a Korean think tank working to accelerate Asia’s transition to net-zero economies on the road ahead regarding steel decarbonisation in the Republic of Korea.

We spoke with Sejong Youn is the Director of Plan 1.5, a non-profit organisation focused on policy advocacy for effective and just climate policies in Korea with an aim to limit global average temperature rise to 1.5℃ on the future of steel decarbonisation in the republic of Korea.

We spoke with Anna Song is the Steel Team Lead* at Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), a Korea-based international climate advocacy organization founded in 2016 dedicated to aligning emissions trajectories with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

We spoke with Min Kim is from Big Wave, a Korean Youth Climate Change organisation focused on engaging investors on steel decarbonisation on the future of steel decarbonisation in the Republic of Korea during a meeting of the Korea Green Steel Network (KGSN).

During the inaugural meeting of the Korea Green Steel Network (KGSN), we caught up with several members of the network to discuss current state of play for steel decarbonisation in the Republic of Korea.

We spoke with Roger Smith, the Asia Lead at SteelWatch; a non-profit organisation aimed at accelerating the transformation to a decarbonised steel sector. Read about the state of play in Japan on steel decarbonisation.

We spoke with Kenta Kubokawa is Japan Analyst at Transition Asia, a non-profit think tank working to accelerate corporate climate action in East Asia on the path ahead for sustainable steel decarbonisation across Japan.

This article explores how international shipping can significantly reduce emissions by adopting green steel. It emphasizes the 2023 Breakthrough Agenda's target for a 25% reduction in steel sector CO₂ emissions by 2030. Stressing the dual role of shipping as a buyer and supplier of steel, the analysis suggests that embracing lower embodied carbon hot rolled steel could save 776MtCO₂ between 2024 and 2050. It calls for aligning with Science Based Targets initiative guidance, setting clear GHG reduction thresholds, and fostering collaboration to drive demand for green steel. The authors urge increased collaboration between the shipping and steel sectors for a sustainable future.

Cargotec, Enersense and YIT are joining WWF Finland’s campaign to send out a strong message to steel producers worldwide: the industry’s transition to low-emission production is key to curbing the climate crisis.

InfluenceMap's November 2023 briefing assesses the climate policy engagement of major steelmakers in China, India, Japan, and Korea, which collectively contribute to 70% of global steel production. Building on their April 2022 report, the analysis explores steel industry involvement in influencing climate policies such as decarbonization, carbon pricing, emissions trading, and energy transition. The report utilises InfluenceMap's LobbyMap data platform, covering over 500 companies and 250 industry associations globally. The steel sector, responsible for 10% of global energy system CO2 emissions, faces challenges in aligning with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement. The briefing evaluates the climate policy positions of Asian steel companies, highlighting the Japanese steel sector's active but negative engagement, the Korean sector's involvement with emissions trading, and varied stances in China and India. The report includes a climate policy engagement scorecard and a comparison of positions on steel sector decarbonization pathways among these major Asian steelmakers.

This comprehensive report delves into the readiness of the Japanese steel industry to reduce emissions and establish itself as a key player in the global green steel production landscape. It provides valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the industry, with a specific focus on the integration of electric arc furnaces (EAF), phased retirements of blast furnaces (BF), and the imperative shift to renewable energy (RE) for sustainable low carbon steel development.

The transition to green steel requires hydrogen, the hydrogen sector needs the steel industry to provide offtake demand at scale. This paper explores the global opportunity for the sector to decarbonise by transitioning to hydrogen-based steel production. Addressing key topics within the conversation on decarbonising steel, from financing H2-DRI projects, accelerating supply-chain shifts and addressing policy as a driver for meaningful progress, this paper is a real-world glimpse into the innovation, collaboration, and opportunity for stakeholders across Europe and the rest of the world. Through the combined efforts of governments, industries, and stakeholders, we can realise a future where steel isn’t just strong and reliable but also green and sustainable.

As the world’s 2nd and 6th largest steel producers, India and South Korea have crucial roles in decarbonizing one of the world’s most carbon intensive activities. The steel industry’s staggering emissions can be tackled by committing to decarbonization plans that involve shifting to green hydrogen or renewable electricity powered steel production. It's time for India and South Korea to demonstrate their leadership by investing in and incentivizing green steel development, which involves commercializing emerging renewables-based technologies and utilizing public policy to stimulate demand.

The Global Steel Transformation Tracker is a digital tool that measures progress in key indicators of the global steel transformation. It includes country-specific information on reinvestment and new investment requirements of coal-based steelmaking capacity. It tracks companies’ announcements on low-carbon steel capacity to be deployed before 2030. The tracker also sheds light on the 2020s transformation gap – that is, whether low-carbon steel announcements in a country are sufficient to substitute coal-based steelmaking capacity that will reach the end of its technical operating life before 2030. Finally, the tool tracks the first announced partnerships around the international trade of green iron. The tracker is a live tool that will be updated regularly.

The updated Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) corporate target-setting tool is a game-changer for the iron and steel sector, providing essential guidance to shape strategies that combat the climate crisis. Bernt Nordman, Head of Climate Program at WWF Finland, underscores the importance of such expert guidance in a world facing urgent climate challenges. SBTi's latest guidance, aligned with the 1.5°C threshold of the Paris Agreement, signifies a significant shift for the industry. While some questions arise about short-term targets and the urgency of action, the tool offers a robust framework for transformative change in the iron and steel sector, making it a vital addition to corporate toolkits striving for sustainability.

Friends of the Earth Finland's recent analysis of major steel-buying companies in Finland reveals alarming gaps in their efforts to drive decarbonization in the emissions-intensive steel sector. The assessment of 11 companies from diverse sectors exposes shortcomings in transparency, a lack of commitments to purchase fossil-free steel, and insufficient measures to incentivize eco-friendly production. With the highest score at just 21 out of 100, urgent improvements are needed, highlighting the importance of stronger industry-wide participation to pave the way for near-zero steel and meet growing demands for decarbonization.

Transition Asia's explainer offers insights into the world of steel recycling. With steel's remarkable recyclability, recycling over 650 million tonnes annually without quality loss, the explainer highlights energy and raw material savings. It emphasizes the need to increase scrap usage in steel production for reduced reliance on raw materials and emissions. Covering scrap types, Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) importance, and constraints, the explainer outlines strategies for a greener future, including demand signals, sustainable steel production methods, and the role of scrap steel in meeting decarbonization regulations.

This guidance offers a granular methodology that includes an iron & steel core boundary aligned with the sector’s carbon budget, differentiated pathways based on scrap input, and a mandatory scope 3 target covering upstream emissions from fuels. It provides a stepwise approach on the target-setting process, and indicates how much and how quickly a company needs to reduce its emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.

This document provides worked examples to guide users in developing targets according to the Steel Science-Based Target-Setting Guidance. Therefore, this document is informative in nature and must be used in conjunction with the criteria outlined in the Steel Science-Based Target-Setting Guidance, the SBTi Net-Zero Standard and SBTi Near-Term Criteria

This report calls for the end of coal in steel production. It shows how coal- based production is driving the huge and dangerous climate emissions of steel and frames the immense opportunity that now exists to transform steel investment and production away from coal.