Net Zero: Decarbonising Steel by 2050

The document highlights the critical role of the steel industry in both global infrastructure and greenhouse gas emissions, arguing that the sector can be almost completely decarbonised by 2050 through appropriate policies and investments.

• Steel production is a significant source of global pollution, accounting for 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 10% of global CO2 emissions in 2018, primarily due to the use of metallurgical coal in blast furnaces for primary steel production.
• Rising global demand and production capacity could lead to an additional 90 Gt of CO2 emissions by 2050, which represents nearly 20% of the remaining global CO2 budget required to maintain a 50% chance of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
• While previously considered a 'hard-to-abate' sector, current analyses indicate that the steel industry can be almost entirely decarbonised by 2050 with necessary investments and policies; the IEA's 1.5°C scenario specifically requires emissions to decrease by 24% by 2030 and nearly 91% by 2050.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2021). Net Zero: Decarbonising Steel by 2050. https://www.sei.org/publications/net-zero-decarbonising-steel-by-2050/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Net Zero: Decarbonising Steel by 2050. 2021. https://www.sei.org/publications/net-zero-decarbonising-steel-by-2050/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Net Zero: Decarbonising Steel by 2050 |date=4 November 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/net-zero-decarbonising-steel-by-2050/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2021net, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Net Zero: Decarbonising Steel by 2050}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/net-zero-decarbonising-steel-by-2050/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }