An international group of leading steel manufacturers today announced the 
formation of a coalition to urge the United States and European Union to adopt 
a global emission standard that incentivizes steelmakers to use the cleanest 
steel production process available.  

The new coalition – the Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) – supports a global 
standard that accelerates the transition to low-emission steel and recognizes 
the potential of the recycled, circular steel model to reduce carbon emissions.

The United States and European Union are negotiating a new emissions standard 
for steel production. The GSCC asserts that any agreement should focus on the 
amount of emissions generated, not on how steel is made. The majority of the 
world's steel production is extremely carbon-intensive because it primarily 
relies on mined and processed coal, iron ore and limestone. However, other 
steelmakers – including those producing over 70% of all U.S. and over 40% of 
all European manufactured steel today – use electric arc furnaces (EAFs) that 
principally input recycled scrap metal to produce steel, generating 
significantly lower carbon emissions. 

"We have the technology to reduce carbon emissions in steel production by 70 
percent today," said Leon Topalian, Chair, President & CEO of Nucor 
Corporation, a founding member of the Council. "The global industry needs to 
build on the innovation that has already led to cleaner steel production in the 
United States because the green and digital economies around the world are 
going to be built with steel, and the steel they are built with matters."

A "sliding scale" standard supported by high-emission steelmakers would set 
greenhouse gas emission standards ceilings up to nine times higher for 
extractive versus recycled products, penalizing EAF producers and permitting 
higher-emission steel to be erroneously labeled as "green." Under a sliding 
scale, two steel products could be classified as equally "green," even though 
one was produced by creating multiple times more carbon emissions than the 
other.

"Steel is essential for our economies, including the world's essential 
infrastructure. This new standard will accelerate the actual reduction of 
greenhouse gas emissions and provide key decisionmakers with accurate data to 
make informed decisions," said Mark D. Millett, Chairman, President, and CEO of 
Steel Dynamics, Chairman of the Steel Manufacturers Association, and a founding 
member of the Council.

"We must prevent steel producers from classifying their products as green when 
the same products are available on the market with significantly lower carbon 
emissions," said Francisco Cardona, Head of Public Affairs of CELSA Group, a 
leading European producer of low-emission circular steel and founding member of 
the Council.

The primary focus of the GSCC is to establish a standard, focusing on the 
following guiding principles:

   - Reducing GHG emissions from the global steel industry.
   - Establishing a standard that is technology/production method agnostic.
   - Establishing a standard that has a system boundary that includes Scope 1, 
2 
     and 3 emissions.
   - Establishing a standard that aligns with a science-based glide path to 
     achieve a 1.5 degree scenario by the year 2050.
   - Providing relevant information on sustainable steelmaking to appropriate
     decisionmakers.

"The GSCC single standard will encourage all producers to reduce their carbon 
emissions and create a level playing field for all manufacturers. The U.S.-EU 
negotiations should not create a double standard and a slippery slope toward a 
dirtier environment. We can do better," said Philip K. Bell, President of the 
Steel Manufacturers Association and founding member of the Council.

About the Global Steel Climate Council

The Global Steel Climate Council, Inc. (GSCC) is a nonprofit association 
organized to advance climate strategy by sharing best practices, establishing 
standards and advocating for carbon emissions reductions by members of the 
steel industry. 

The GSCC includes more than 20 members and supporters who are steel 
manufacturers, trade associations, end users, scrap metal suppliers and 
non-governmental organizations. 

GSCC's specific purposes are to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 
the global steel industry by supporting reduction methods that are technology 
agnostic, have a system boundary that includes Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and 
align with a science-based glidepath to achieve a 1.5 degree Celsius scenario 
by 2050.           

The founding members of the GSCC are: the Steel Manufacturers Association, 
Nucor Corporation, CELSA Group, Steel Dynamics, Inc., Commercial Metals Company 
and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.

For more information, please visit https://GlobalSteelClimateCouncil.org

CONTACT: media@globalsteelclimatecouncil.org



SOURCE: Global Steel Climate Council