On 10th September 2024, the Ministry of Steel (MoS) successfully hosted the event titled “Greening Steel: Pathway to Sustainability” held at C.D. Deshmukh Hall, India International Centre, New Delhi, Delhi.
- Union Minister for Steel H. D. Kumaraswamy, Chief guest of the event, released the report on “Greening the Steel Sector in India: Roadmap and Action Plan”.
About Greening the Steel Sector in India: Roadmap and Action Plan:
i.The report has been prepared based on the recommendations of 14 Task Forces formed by the MoS. It covers a comprehensive strategy for decarbonization of the steel sector in India.
ii.The key strategies and action plan laid out in the report can help to reduce carbon emissions, which are also in alignment with India’s target to achieve net-zero emissions as specified in its Nationally Determined Commitments (NDC).
Key Points:
The report has mainly focused on the various aspects of carbon emissions in the steel sector in India:
i.Current State and Challenges: The report provides in-depth insights of the current state of steel sector in India, its carbon footprint, and challenges faced in decarbonization.
- The report has outlined critical areas such as: technological innovation, policy reforms, and the financial mechanisms which are important to support the sustainable transition of steel sector.
ii.Key Levers of decarbonization: The report highlighted 3 key policy on demand side levers which include: developing taxonomy of green steel, tracking of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions, and generating market-based incentives.
- It has also outlined 7 supply side levers such as: energy efficiency, renewable energy, material efficiency, process transition, Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS), use of green hydrogen and biochars.
iii.Technological Innovations: The report has recommended latest technological advancements and practices that can help in reducing emissions.
iv.Policy Frameworks: The report examined the existing policies and recommended potential policy enhancements to support decarbonization.
v.Future Outlook: It provides vision for a sustainable steel industry and the role of various stakeholders which can help in achieving these goals.
vi.Roadmap and Action Plan: It recommended strategies and interventions required from the Government as well as industry players.
Point to Note: The Steel sector in India accounts for 12% of the total greenhouse gas emission in India, with 2.5 tonnes of CO2 emission per tonne of crude steel compared to the global average of 1.9 tonnes of CO2 emission per tonne of crude steel.
Other Highlights of the Event:
i.Sanjay Singh, Former Secretary, MoS, chaired the technical session titled “Leadership and Innovation: Driving the Green Steel Transition” during the event. The session highlighted the important role of visionary leadership and innovation in advancing sustainable steel production.
- Participants: Dr. Anshu Bhardwaj, Project Director, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), Abhay Bhakre, Mission Director, National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM); Arvind K. Singh, Director-Technical, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL); Vaibhav Pokharna, Senior Lead Sustainability, Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel (AMNS) India; among others were the key panelists of the session.
- Dhrubha Purkayastha, Director, Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) moderated the technical session.
ii.During the event, Union Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy,felicitated the Chairpersons of Task Forces in recognition of their invaluable contributions in preparing the report for sustainable steel sector in India.
About Ministry of Steel (MoS):
Union Minister- H. D. Kumaraswamy(Constituency- Mandya, Karnataka)
Minister of State– Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma(Constituency- Narasapuram, Andhra Pradesh)
