PEDAL TO THE METAL

This report by Global Energy Monitor assesses the global iron and steel plant fleet, highlighting a critical lag in the transition from carbon-intensive Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF) technology to Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking. It identifies significant stranded asset risks and underreported methane emissions from coal mining that exacerbate the sector's climate impact.

• The global transition from Blast Furnace-Basic Oxygen Furnace (BF-BOF) to Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaking is too slow to meet IEA Net-zero 2050 targets. While 31% of operating capacity uses EAF, only 28% of capacity currently under construction uses EAF. To align with targets, EAF capacity must reach 37% by 2030 and 53% by 2050.
• Steel capacity development is heavily concentrated in Asia. China and India account for 80% of the BF-BOF steelmaking capacity under development, with 158 mtpa planned in China and 123 mtpa in India. Other significant planned BF-BOF capacities include Indonesia (24 mtpa), Vietnam (16 mtpa), and Malaysia (12 mtpa).
• The risk of stranded assets in the steel industry is estimated at 345 to 518 billion USD if all proposed or under-construction BF-BOF capacity is developed. This is approximately seven times higher than previous estimates of 47–70 billion USD.
• The total emissions footprint of the steel industry may be 27% higher than reported when accounting for methane emissions from metallurgical coal mining. These emissions could add approximately 1 Gt CO2-e to the existing 2.6 Gt of direct and 1.1 Gt of indirect CO2 emissions.
• A significant portion of the global blast furnace (BF) fleet will reach the end of its working life by 2030. Specifically, 1,090 Mt of capacity (77% of the BF fleet in the Global Steel Plant Tracker) will enter a reinvestment cycle, with China accounting for 730 Mt of this capacity.
• The global iron and steel industry is responsible for 11% of global carbon dioxide emissions and 7–9% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Direct CO2 emissions rose from 3.6 Gt in 2019 to 3.8 Gt in 2021.

APA

Swalec, C. (2022). PEDAL TO THE METAL. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_SteelPlants2022_11.pdf

Chicago

Swalec, Caitlin. PEDAL TO THE METAL. Global Energy Monitor, 2022. https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_SteelPlants2022_11.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Swalec |first1=Caitlin |title=PEDAL TO THE METAL |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |date=June 2022 |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_SteelPlants2022_11.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{swalec2022pedal, author = {Swalec, Caitlin}, title = {{PEDAL TO THE METAL}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/sites/default/files/migration/reports/GEM_SteelPlants2022_11.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }