In December 2024, Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, Ministry of Steel (MoS) and Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises (MoHI&PE) unveiled the ‘Taxonomy of Green Steel for India during an event held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, Delhi. With this, India becomes the 1st country in the world to launch a taxonomy for green steel.
- This launch reaffirmed India’s commitment to decarbonize the steel sector which is also in alignment with net-zero emission intensity target by 2070.
- The MoS has also organised stakeholder consultations on the draft of National Mission on Green Steel (NMGS) and the Green Steel Public Procurement Policy (GSPPP) during the event.
Features of of Green steel taxonomy:
i.As per the new framework, green steel will be defined in terms of its emission intensity. It has set a limit of 2.2 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission per tonne of finished steel (tCO2e/tfs).
- The steel will be termed “green steel” if the percentage of the steel plant’s emission intensity is less than the 2.2 tCO2e/tfs.
ii.The newly released taxonomy has classified green steel into 3 main star-rating categories based on the greenness of the steel:
- 5-star green-rated steel: steel with emission intensity less than 1.6 tCO2e/tfs.
- 4-star green-rated steel: steel with emission intensity in the range between 1.6 and 2.0 tCO2e/tfs.
- 3-star green-rated steel: steel with emission intensity in the range between 2.0 and 2.2 tCO2e/tfs.
- Steel with emission intensity exceeding the threshold of 2.2 tCO2e/tfs will be ineligible for green rating.
iii.The upper limit for defining the star rating of green steel will be reviewed after every 3 years, to ensure that it remains in line with technological advancements and industry requirements.
iv.The scope of emissions will consists of emissions from direct operations (Scope 1), indirect energy use (Scope 2), and limited other sources such as raw material processing (Scope 3), up to finished steel production.
- But, it does not include upstream mining, downstream emissions, and transportation.
v.Gobindgarh (Punjab)-based the National Institute of Secondary Steel Technology (NISST) will act as the nodal agency for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of green steel. It has also been authorised to issue the greenness certificates and star ratings for the steel.
vi.The certificate will be issued on an annual basis (Financial Year,FY). The steel plants will have the option to request for MRV more frequently, then in such cases certificates may be issued more than once in a year as per the requirement.
Recent Related News:
On September 10 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 in New Delhi, Delhi.
- During the event, the Union Minister released the report on “Greening the Steel Sector in India: Roadmap and Action Plan”. The report was prepared based on the recommendations of 14 Task Forces formed by the MoS.
- The report has covered a comprehensive strategy for decarbonization of the steel sector in India.
About Ministry of Steel (MoS):
Union Minister- H.D. Kumaraswamy (Constituency- Mandya, Karnataka)
Minister of State (MoS)- Bhupathi Raju Srinivas Varma (Constituency- Narasapuram, Andhra Pradesh, AP)
