Global Steel Transformation Tracker

In order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement, enhanced climate action in the 2020s will be required. The global steel sector must play a vital role in this, as the steel sector itself will be facing a crucial decade: before 2030, more than 70% of coal-based blast furnaces will reach the end of their operating lifetime and require major reinvestments. Meanwhile, emerging economies with rising steel demand will require at least 170 Mt of new capacity. Meeting these needs with coal-based capacity will create long-term carbon lock-in and lead to stranded assets. Instead, the global steel sector must use the 2020s to invest massively in low-carbon steelmaking technologies. This will help to transition millions of jobs from coal-based to green, future-proof jobs while putting the global steel sector on a pathway compatible with 1.5°C.

The Global Steel Transformation Tracker is a digital tool that measures progress in key indicators of the global steel transformation. It includes country-specific information on reinvestment and new investment requirements of coal-based steelmaking capacity. It tracks companies’ announcements on low-carbon steel capacity before 2030. The tracker also sheds light on the 2020s transformation gap – that is, whether low-carbon steel announcements in a country are sufficient to substitute coal-based steelmaking capacity that will reach the end of its technical operating life before 2030. Finally, in the context of a just transition, the tool estimates employment effects of the steel transformation. The tracker is a live tool that will be continuously updated.