Emissions from China’s steel industry fell by 8.2% y/y in April

In April 2026, Chinese steel mills that are members of the CISA industry association reduced their total exhaust gas emissions by 8.19% 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 significant decrease. Specifically, sulfur dioxide emissions fell by 16.52% year-over-year, particulate matter by 11.91%, and nitrogen oxides by 10.59%. This indicates a further improvement in the environmental efficiency of the industry’s enterprises against the backdrop of a reduction in overall energy consumption.

Total energy consumption by CISA enterprises in April decreased by 4.34% year-on-year. At the same time, comprehensive energy consumption per ton of steel increased by 0.98%, while the comparative energy consumption per ton of steel decreased by 0.4%. Electricity consumption per ton of steel increased by 2.38%.

The total volume of electricity consumed by enterprises decreased by 2.63% year-on-year. At the same time, in-house electricity generation increased by 1.34%, and its share in the energy balance rose by 2.56 percentage points to 65.32%. Electricity generation from renewable sources increased by 0.79%. In particular, wind power generation rose by 1.27%, while solar power generation decreased slightly—by 0.04%.

Water consumption by steel enterprises in April decreased by 142.25 million cubic meters, or 1.81% year-on-year. Water withdrawal decreased by 2.39%, and the volume of reuse decreased by 1.8%. At the same time, the water reuse rate remained very high at 98.38%, which is 0.01 percentage points higher than last year. Water withdrawal per ton of steel increased by 2.18% to 2.45 cubic meters.

At the same time, the volume of industrial wastewater increased by 25.37% year-on-year. In the area of solid waste management, the comprehensive utilization rate of steelmaking slag, blast furnace slag, and iron-containing dust remained above 97%.

The utilization of combustible gases also remained at a high level. The utilization rate of blast furnace, converter, and coke oven gases exceeded 98%, although the volume of converter gas captured per ton of steel decreased by 2.79% compared to April 2025.

As a reminder, in December 2025, Chinese steel mills 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.