Debunking 10 steel decarbonization myths: insights for financial institutions

The steel industry accounts for 11% of global CO2 emissions, but decarbonization is hindered by financial institutions' reliance on outdated myths. The briefing argues that the next six years are critical for transformation and urges financial institutions to restrict funding for metallurgical coal and coal-based steel projects while increasing investment in fossil-free technologies.

• The steel industry is responsible for 11% of global CO2 emissions. While previously viewed as 'hard-to-abate' due to its use of metallurgical coal, technological advances now allow for faster decarbonization, making the next six years a critical window for transforming production.
• Financial institutions are slow to transition their funding because of ten specific myths, including the beliefs that the sector is 'hard-to-abate', that fossil-free steel is too expensive, that CCUS is necessary, and that metallurgical coal is fundamentally different from thermal coal.
• To enable a fossil-free future, financial institutions should implement policies to restrict financing for new metallurgical coal projects, new coal-based steel projects, and the extension of existing coal-based facility lifetimes, while simultaneously increasing funding for fossil-free steel technologies.

APA

Martin, L. (2024). Debunking 10 steel decarbonization myths: insights for financial institutions. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/09/27/debunking-10-steel-decarbonization-myths-insights-for-financial-institutions/

Chicago

Martin, Léo. Debunking 10 steel decarbonization myths: insights for financial institutions. Reclaim Finance, 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/09/27/debunking-10-steel-decarbonization-myths-insights-for-financial-institutions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Martin |first1=Léo |title=Debunking 10 steel decarbonization myths: insights for financial institutions |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=26 September 2024 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/09/27/debunking-10-steel-decarbonization-myths-insights-for-financial-institutions/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{martin2024debunking, author = {Martin, Léo}, title = {{Debunking 10 steel decarbonization myths: insights for financial institutions}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/09/27/debunking-10-steel-decarbonization-myths-insights-for-financial-institutions/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }