The global greenhouse gas emissions need to be cut 43% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels to limit global warming to 1.5°C – and the ambitious expectations are set for the corporate sector to act and implement the policies to the markets. Outokumpu, one of the global leaders in sustainable stainless steel, sees CLC as an impactful network to drive the change in global regulation mitigating climate change.
“Our growing membership base and network of partners enhance CLC’s potential to support the EU and global decision-makers in work to mitigate climate change and the transition away from fossil solutions. We are looking forward to working together with Outokumpu,” says Sari Baldauf, Chair of the CLC Board.
Outokumpu sees that in order to achieve the green transition, getting rid of fossil fuels and reach net zero by 2050, we will need global pricing for carbon, green investments across public and private sector and demand for green steel.
“Steel accounts for 7–9% of the global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, it has a pivotal role in accelerating green transition. From hydrogen to electric vehicles and clean energy, the low-carbon economies rely on stainless steel. Outokumpu has been pioneering in circular economy in the industry – our products reduce customers’ emissions by 75% compared to the industry average – totaling avoided emissions by over 10 million tonnes annually. We have ambitious science-based climate targets aligned with 1.5 degrees, and we execute them with concrete initiatives – for example by targeting to achieve carbon neutrality in our Kemi mine as the first mine in the world by 2025. For us sustainability truly drives our business decisions, and we are excited to join forces with CLC’s network”, says Heikki Malinen, President and CEO, Outokumpu Oyj.
“From the company perspective, we need an aligned global policy for mitigating climate change that also levels the playing field for companies. Although a global carbon pricing system does not exist, there are regional carbon prices, such as the EU’s new pivotal instrument Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) that aims to combat carbon leakage of goods with significant emission intensity being imported into the EU. It is crucial to ensure that these instruments combat carbon leakage by considering the entire product carbon footprint and accurate reporting systems. Boosting carbon pricing as a tool to ramp-up climate investments is a challenge we are excited to take forward with CLC”, Malinen continues.
