The most recent report from Global Energy Monitor (GEM) shows that India has finally eclipsed China as the largest developer of coal-based steel capacity.
The analysis reveals that steelmakers expanded the construction of polluting coal-based plants by 8% last year, despite the necessity for coal-based steelmaking to decarbonize in order to meet the Paris climate goals. “Coal-based steelmaking capacity under development, that follows the ‘blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace’ production method, increased to 380 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2022 from 350 mtpa in 2021,” the report said.
Nearly all of the coal-based capacity under development is in Asia (99%), with China and India holding the majority of those developments (79% jointly), according to data from Global Steel Plant Tracker, GEM’s database that maps and records plant-level statistics. “The primary battleground is Asia: India holds 40% of coal-based capacity under development, while China is responsible for 39%,” the analysis stated.
As nations expand their coal-based capacity while still pursuing their promises to carbon neutrality, the steel sector is facing stranded asset risk totalling $554 billion.
