The race against time is on, so learning how countries and companies are planning to decarbonise steel production is imperative. This is where resource known as the “Green Steel Tracker” comes into the picture. The database not only presents a clearer roadmap of future steel production, but it also enables coordination and collaboration among all the stakeholders.
The Green Steel Tracker (GST) keeps tabs on investments, innovations and announcements that enable decision-making and strategy development in the sector. According to the Mission Possible Partnership, the steel industry needs investments of $30 billion annually just to keep pace with demand over the next 30 years, while becoming net-zero will require another $6 billion a year. Therefore, a platform tracking public announcements of low-carbon investments in the steel industry and presenting them transparently in one place seems crucial. Interestingly, it indicates how the primary production of steel could become green, and what it would take. Basically, GST helps identify interesting stories with the help of data.
The tool for tracking investments in green steel was developed jointly by the LeadIT Secretariat at Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), together with a group of like-minded research organisations. LeadIT was launched by the prime ministers of Sweden and India with support from the World Economic Forum during the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit on 23 September 2019, in New York.
Felipe Sanchez, an analyst within the LeadIT Secretariat, explains that the project resonates with their aim of accelerating transition towards low-carbon pathways in line with the Paris Agreement. Tracking investments in green steel also fits nicely with their efforts to provide evidence and knowledge that prompts action on industry transition.
LeadIT aims to update the database regularly to make sure it keeps up with future announcements in green investments. In terms of improvements, it will be looking to pull out particular data points to make them more visually engaging.
The tracker currently features 59 projects and as per data, seven out of the ten biggest steel producing countries have initiated at least one green steel project. Swedish companies, LKAB, H2 Green Steel and SSAB, have announced the largest share of investment, followed by a South Korean steelmaker POSCO and 3 projects announced by ArcelorMittal in Canada, Belgium and Spain.
To view the Green Steel Tracker, please visit:
