Exclusive Emissions from China’s steel industry fell by 2.7% y/y in March

Energy consumption by companies in the sector fell by 4% y/y, while the share of self-generated power rose to 65%

In March 2026, Chinese steel mills that are members of the CISA industry association reduced their total exhaust gas emissions by 2.74% compared to the same month in 2025. This is according to data from the association.

Emissions of major pollutants in the exhaust gases also showed a decline. Specifically, sulfur dioxide emissions fell by 16.55% year-over-year, particulate matter by 13.73%, and nitrogen oxides by 12.36%.

Total energy consumption by companies in the industry decreased by 4% year-on-year in March. At the same time, total energy consumption per ton of steel increased by 0.88%, while the comparative energy consumption rate per ton of steel decreased by 0.43%. Electricity consumption per ton of steel increased by 3.2%.

Total electricity consumption rose by 0.93% year-on-year. In-house electricity generation increased by 6.95%, and its share in the energy balance rose by 3.66 percentage points to 64.99%. Clean energy production rose by 11.11%, with wind power generation decreasing by 11.95% and solar power generation increasing by 13.27%.

Water consumption by steelmakers in March rose by 2.52% year-on-year. Water withdrawal increased by 0.21%, while reuse rose by 2.56%. The water reuse rate reached 98.45%, which is 0.04 percentage points higher than last year. Water withdrawal per ton of steel increased by 2.29% – to 2.34 cubic meters.

The volume of wastewater increased by 33.5%, but emissions of cyanides and petroleum products in wastewater decreased by 30.91% and 38.93%, respectively.

The recycling rate for steelmaking slag, blast furnace slag, and iron-containing dust exceeded 97%. The utilization of blast furnace, converter, and coke oven gases also remained above 97%.

As a reminder, in December 2025, Chinese steelmakers increased total emissions by 4.41% compared to December 2024. Energy consumption in the industry decreased by 6.4% year-on-year during the month.