Steel: China only makes slow progress wi • Table.Briefings

Stahlwerk nahe Shanghai — Steelworks near Shanghai: Only a tenth of the steel currently comes from climate-friendly electric arc furnaces.

China’s steel sector jeopardizes the country’s climate targets. Low-carbon production processes such as electric arc furnaces or the use of hydrogen are only making slow progress. Coal-based steel and iron production would have to fall rapidly to meet the country’s climate targets.

According to a new analysis by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), China’s steel sector is jeopardizing the country’s climate targets. The transformation of the sector to lower-carbon production processes is making slow progress. Steel from electric arc furnaces (EAF) still accounted for less than ten percent of total production in 2024. The EAF route threatens to fall far short of the 15 percent share goal for 2025. Accordingly, only 2.3 million tons of hydrogen-based production capacities were approved between 2021 and 2024.

Steel: China only makes slow progress with low-carbon production

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