ResponsibleSteel, China, and Europe to agree on global standards for green steel

The non-profit organization ResponsibleSteel announced partnerships with the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) and the European Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS) at COP30.

The agreements between the parties, whose activities cover about 60% of global steel production, are an important step toward internationally agreed carbon standards. They extend a common approach to measuring and classifying greenhouse gases.

“By bringing together some of the world’s largest steel industries, the agreements pave the way for increased investment, green procurement, technology sharing, and international cooperation in sustainable steel production,” ResponsibleSteel said in a statement.

The agreements also send a signal to governments about a far-reaching consensus on the use of “scrap variable” for the classification of low-carbon steel, ResponsibleSteel noted. This approach recognizes that the availability of recyclable steel will be limited for a significant period of time and is designed to stimulate decarbonization across all technologies. It is recognized by the G7 and included in international standards and, among other things, prevents fruitless competition for limited scrap supplies.

The agreements are based on ResponsibleSteel’s Framework for Credible Interoperability, which defines principles for converting carbon metrics between standards. Using it, ResponsibleSteel will collaborate with two organizations to develop conversion tools that will allow stakeholders to declare the equivalence of their decarbonization progress under different schemes.

In June this year, ResponsibleSteel and LESS advocated for a balanced decarbonization policy. They called on EU policymakers to recognize the limitations of scrap availability and to support decarbonization efforts in all steel production methods.