The International Bureau of Waste Management (BIR) has published a new position paper calling for a "fair and evidence-based approach" to the development of environmentally friendly steel policy, namely the methodological definition of environmentally friendly steel as the steel industry begins the transition to industrial production.
In the document, the industry association warns against defining "green" steel in accordance with the "sliding scale" approach, which provides for a reduction in carbon emissions accreditation as the share of recycled steel (scrap) in steel production increases.
This methodology, which is favored by leading standards bodies in the field of decarbonization in the steel sector, such as ResponsibleSteel and the Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS), is based on a "realistic and practical" approach to decarbonization aimed at identifying internal constraints on scrap availability to meet steel demand and environmentally friendly pure steel products. until 2050, the worldwide deadline for carbon neutrality.
BIR supports methodologies based on an absolute approach to emissions, such as the Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC SCC) Standard, which, according to BIR, "applies to all steel producers equally, focusing on the actual intensity of emissions over time rather than the production method." Although this is not completely inaccurate, the SCC distinguishes between sheet and long products, setting different emission targets for each of them at relatively high thresholds, as shown in the first appendix.
Proponents of definitions involving a sliding scale argue that these limitations of scrap shortages pose the risk of a simple redistribution of emissions between steel mill production lines and negate the opportunities for manufacturers of higher-carbon blast furnaces to achieve real emission reductions while being economically inefficient.
The European Commission is currently developing low-emission steel labeling as part of the upcoming industrial decarbonization accelerator to act in accordance with the European Steel and Metals Action Plan (ESMAP), which will be presented at the end of the year. McCloskey's industry sources indicate that LESS is a leader in these consultations between policy makers and participants in the European steel market.
Within the framework of the ESMAP, the EU authorities recognize that the transition of the steel industry is impossible without the demand for environmentally friendly steel products.,
