Action plan required for steel industry to curb CO2 emissions

Government of India’s Ministry of Steel has urged the stakeholders in steel industry to develop a time-bound action plan to lower emissions.

In a meeting held recently, Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh urged the stakeholders to develop a time-bound action plan and make intensive efforts for lowering the emissions from the steel industry in line with the commitments made by the Government in COP26.

Discussions were also held on the present scenario, the way forward for promoting the transition towards green steel, various strategies and technologies that can be adopted by the steel industry to produce green steel, and technology readiness levels, among others.

The use of green hydrogen in producing iron and the use of carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) technologies for lowering emissions were also discussed at the meeting.

The Indian steel industry needs to reduce its emissions substantially in view of the commitments made at the COP26 climate change conference. As iron and steel industry globally accounts for around 8 per cent of total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on an annual basis, whereas in India, it contributes 12 per cent to the total CO2 emissions.