This provocative question (for us steelmakers at least) was in the minds of participants in a conference on decarbonization recently organized by Euractiv. We had our own representative there, namely USSK GM Strategy Juraj Sabol, who explained why decarbonization is currently such a big challenge for the steel industry. He spoke about margins in the steel business being reduced over the last ten years, and about the great pressure involved in the enormous investments which are currently required. At the same time steel imports into the EU have doubled from 15 million to 30 million tons, and they come from countries with lower environmental standards.
He also explained why it makes more sense to support the steel industry in Europe. The main reason is that the whole of the EU needs to convert to low-carbon technologies - and building wind generators alone is going to require 5 million tons of steel every year.
It goes against common sense for that steel to come from countries outside Europe, where it would most likely be produced in less environmentally-friendly ways.
You can see the whole discussion on:
https:Contributors to the discussion:
• Mette Koefoed Quinn, head of ETS and IT Implementation Dept., European Commission Directorate-General for Climate Action
• Milan Zvara, head of section for Greenhouse Gases Emissions Reduction Policy at the SR Ministry for Environment
• Juraj Sabol, U. S. Steel Košice General Manager Strategy and Project Management
• Kateřina Davidová, researcher at the European Policy Institute (EUROPEUM)
