International Climate Change and its Outlook for the Steel Industry

Each year, nearly 1,000 industry leaders from the Latin American steel industry, representing 25 countries, come together at the Alacero Conference to discuss critical issues pertaining to promoting a sustainable steel industry across Latin America. This year, with strong interest in understanding the implications for steel of the upcoming climate change negotiations, the conference held the first ever session on climate change, which I had the honor to keynote.

Now is the time to convert policy into action. With over 170 countries having submitted Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs), there is a growing recognition that an effective outcome from Paris will bind all countries, developed and developing, to keep their emissions in check. The next step is for these INDCs to be converted to specific emission reduction policies, measures and finance-ready investment plans.

Energy intensive industrial activities like iron and steel production emit large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and will need to be part of the global climate change response. INDCs from 36 countries already indicate plans to reduce emissions from metals and/or iron and steel. We can expect policies to lower emissions