In this special edition of Current Accounts, the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast on global trade, guest host Nii Akrofi Smart-Abbey from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States (AFPC-USA) and Executive Director of Asia Trade Center Deborah Elms, discuss how lack of standardization is proving to be a challenge in decarbonizing the steel industry. 

Iron and steel production accounts for 8% of annual carbon emissions, according to a WTO climate change brief on decarbonizing the steel industry, and global steel production has tripled in the past 50 years with 1.8 billion tons produced in 2020. This is mainly due to the methods used to produce steel which includes combining iron with carbon, recycled steel, and other elements. But that is not all. Decarbonization standards in the iron and steel industries are proliferating. Navigating different standards can create costs and inefficiencies at a time when efforts must strive to be as effective and affordable as possible. The industry is committed to going green but with the lack of standardization, will it be possible for the industry to agree on a single blueprint for reducing carbon emissions?

Dr. Deborah Elms of the Asian Trade Center and Nii Akrofi Smart-Abbey from the Association of Foreign Press Correspondents in the United States (AFPC- USA) discuss the challenges of the steel industry and how feasible its goal of producing low-carbon steel is.

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