core sector communique

 

Global CO₂ emissions from steelmaking will rise without Chinese commitment

 European steel industry asks policy makers at Copenhagen to secure equal treatment with its competitors in developed and emerging economies

“For the European steel industry and other industrial sectors which are recognized as being at risk of carbon leakage, equal treatment with their competitors worldwide must be secured. Otherwise, this will not only lead to carbon leakage, but also to leakage of jobs, knowledge, intellectual property, R&D, investment and capital from Europe to other regions in the world”, EUROFER director general Gordon Moffat said in view to the Copenhagen climate change negotiations starting on 7^th of December.

EUROFER fears that any kind of agreement at Copenhagen may be taken as excuse by the European Commission to eliminate free allowances or reduce the list of sectors eligible for free allowances under the EU emissions trading scheme (EU ETS). “If equal burdens within sectors producing globally traded goods are not part of the International Agreement, allowances free of charge and additional measures to prevent carbon leakage must be continued in their entirety under the EU ETS”, explains Moffat.

China alone is responsible for over 50 % of CO₂ emissions from global steel production, the 27 EU member states for only about 8 %. The climate change objectives will not be achieved if large industrial emitters such as the Chinese steel industry are not subject to equal CO₂ emission reductions. Emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil have by far the highest growth forecasts for steel production in the coming decades. Without full participation of their steel industries, global CO₂ emissions from steel production will increase and not decrease.

Please find attached and below EUROFER’s Expectations of the European Steel Industry on the results of the Copenhagen Climate Change Negotiations.

Represented by EUROFER, the European steel industry is the world leader in its sector with a turnover of EUR 190 billion and direct employment of 420 thousand people, producing 200 million tonnes of steel per year.