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China’s steel mills must improve efficiency if they’re to cut their huge carbon emissions, say analysts
- China’s steel accounts for about 15 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions and over 60 per cent of the global steel industry’s emissions
- Steel companies are under pressure now Beijing has fully committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050
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China’s steel mills can meet their goal of reducing carbon emissions if the industry is willing to accept the high cost of improving the efficiency of production, according to analysts.
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As the largest crude steel producer and consumer, China’s steel accounts for about 15 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions and over 60 per cent of the global steel industry’s emissions. Steel companies in the country are under pressure now Beijing has fully committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
“This [slashing carbon emissions] is a must for the steel industry,” said Ma Jun, director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs. “For an industry with such sizable emission, it needs to make a move right now.”
The country is carving out a plan for the steel industry – the largest carbon emitter of all the manufacturing categories – to hit peak carbon emissions within four years and reduce them by 30 per cent by 2030, said Li Xinchuang, president and chief engineer at the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute, during an industrial conference last week.
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The industry will need to be more efficient to save energy, optimise operational processes and apply low carbon technologies, Li was quoted as saying by the state-owned Economic Observer.
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