letter to alert banks of arcelormittals human rights and climate impacts

Reclaim Finance, BankTrack, SteelWatch, and the Fair Steel Coalition have sent a letter to 21 banks that finance ArcelorMittal, the world's second-largest steel company. The coalition alerts these financiers to risks and adverse impacts documented in two reports: 'The Real Co$t of Steel', which details violence against environmental defenders and neglect of worker health in South Africa, Liberia, Mexico, and Brazil, and the 'ArcelorMittal Corporate Climate Assessment 2024', which finds the company is not aligned with a 1.5C scenario and is investing in coal-based steel production. The letter demands that banks require ArcelorMittal to publish concrete action plans, adopt a 1.5-aligned Climate Action Plan, and perform enhanced due diligence. Additionally, the coalition calls on banks to adopt sectoral policies to restrict financing for coal-based steelmaking, specifically ending services for new blast furnaces and the relining of existing ones.

• The report 'The Real Co$t of Steel' documents systemic human rights failures in ArcelorMittal's mining and steelmaking operations in Brazil, Liberia, Mexico, and South Africa, including violence against environmental defenders, lack of remedy, and neglect of worker and community health and safety.
• The 'ArcelorMittal Corporate Climate Assessment 2024' concludes that ArcelorMittal is not on track for a 1.5C-aligned scenario, has back-tracked on green DRI commitments, and is hindering the industry transition by investing in coal-based steel production.
• The coalition demands that banks push ArcelorMittal to adopt a 1.5-aligned Climate Action Plan featuring science-based targets, a commitment to stop investing in new or expanded coal-based steelmaking facilities, and deadlines to end coal and gas use by 2040 in OECD countries and 2050 globally.
• The authors urge banks to implement a sectoral policy restricting finance to coal-based steelmaking, specifically by stopping financial services for the relining of existing blast furnaces and the construction of new ones.

APA

Hovenier, J., Rocamora, C., Lopes, F., & Ashley, C. (2024). letter to alert banks of arcelormittals human rights and climate impacts. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/06/24/letter-to-alert-banks-of-arcelormittals-human-rights-and-climate-impacts/

Chicago

Hovenier, Julia, Cynthia Rocamora, Filipa Lopes, and Caroline Ashley. letter to alert banks of arcelormittals human rights and climate impacts. Reclaim Finance, 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/06/24/letter-to-alert-banks-of-arcelormittals-human-rights-and-climate-impacts/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Hovenier |first1=Julia |last2=Rocamora |first2=Cynthia |last3=Lopes |first3=Filipa |last4=Ashley |first4=Caroline |title=letter to alert banks of arcelormittals human rights and climate impacts |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=24 June 2024 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/06/24/letter-to-alert-banks-of-arcelormittals-human-rights-and-climate-impacts/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{hovenier2024letter, author = {Hovenier, Julia and Rocamora, Cynthia and Lopes, Filipa and Ashley, Caroline}, title = {{letter to alert banks of arcelormittals human rights and climate impacts}}, publisher = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/en/2024/06/24/letter-to-alert-banks-of-arcelormittals-human-rights-and-climate-impacts/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }