Climate protection is the focus of much of the European Steel Association's work. Continuing the downward trend in energy use and climate-impacting greenhouse gas emissions is essential to ensuring the sustainability of the European steel sector.
The European steel industry is the most advanced of its kind in the world. As it is, Europe leads the way in environmental and climate performance. CO2 emissions and energy use in European steel production have been halved since 1960, and the sector has the ambition to further achieve cuts of between 80-95% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels.
This transition will require significant investment in new technological development and deployment, in energy infrastructure, consumption and type, and will require access to high-quality
materials, such as iron ore and scrap. EUROFER works on climate and energy issues to establish how this essential change can happen in the sector, ensuring that Europe remains on track to fulfil its Paris Climate Accords requirements, whilst also making European steel fit for a clean, low-carbon future.
Brussels, 07 December 2023 – The inclusion of transformative industrial technologies for the decarbonisation of energy-intensive sectors, such as steel, in the list of net-zero technologies in the general approach adopted by the Council on the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), sends a positive signal at a crucial time when governments are deliberating urgent measures to protect the climate at COP28 in Dubai. Parliament and Council should now seize the opportunity to reach an ambitious agreement to promote EU-made green products in public auctions of net-zero technologies and to drive Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage (CCUS) in Europe. Promoting lead markets and CCUS are essential tools for sustaining the transition to low-carbon steelmaking, says the European Steel Association.
Joint letter - Urgent call for action
Joint letter of Europe’s clean technology industries & key materials suppliers