INSIDER: Designing Low-carbon Product Standards for Cement and Steel in the United States

This briefing by the World Resources Institute discusses the design and implementation of low-carbon product standards for the cement and steel industries in the United States to help achieve Paris Agreement goals.

• Cement and steel are highly carbon-intensive due to the requirement for high heat from fossil fuels and chemical reactions that release carbon dioxide. Cement production releases nearly one ton of CO2 per ton of cement, while steel produced via blast furnaces releases over two tons of CO2 per ton of steel.
• A low-carbon product standard would set a decreasing emissions intensity benchmark and allow for the trading of emissions credits. Companies that produce or import products with emissions below the benchmark receive credits, while those above the benchmark must surrender them, creating a financial incentive for decarbonization.
• The author recommends specific regulatory focuses for each sector: federal standards should regulate cement rather than concrete due to administrative ease and product uniformity, while for steel, the focus should be on intermediate fabricated products such as pipes, tubes, beams, bars, plates, and sheets.
• To ensure effectiveness and competitiveness, the standard should include direct and indirect emissions (purchased electricity), apply to both domestic producers and importers to prevent leakage, and include price ceilings and floors to manage credit price volatility.
• Implementation via new legislation is preferred over the Clean Air Act because the latter cannot cover imported products, purchased electricity emissions, or certain upstream steel emissions. Potential abatement technologies include fuel switching, carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), and energy efficiency upgrades, which could reduce U.S. steel facility energy consumption by up to 39% through best practice retrofits.

APA

World Resources Institute (2021). INSIDER: Designing Low-carbon Product Standards for Cement and Steel in the United States. https://www.wri.org/technical-perspectives/insider-designing-low-carbon-product-standards-cement-and-steel-united-states

Chicago

World Resources Institute. INSIDER: Designing Low-carbon Product Standards for Cement and Steel in the United States. 2021. https://www.wri.org/technical-perspectives/insider-designing-low-carbon-product-standards-cement-and-steel-united-states.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=INSIDER: Designing Low-carbon Product Standards for Cement and Steel in the United States |date=25 March 2021 |url=https://www.wri.org/technical-perspectives/insider-designing-low-carbon-product-standards-cement-and-steel-united-states |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2021insider, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{INSIDER: Designing Low-carbon Product Standards for Cement and Steel in the United States}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2021}, month = mar, url = {https://www.wri.org/technical-perspectives/insider-designing-low-carbon-product-standards-cement-and-steel-united-states}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }