Australia standing in the way of cleaner steel, Greenpeace report shows

Released today, the Steeling the Future report shows that Australia deliberately “sought and won its position as the world’s pre-eminent facilitator of the dirtiest steelmaking process” with nearly half of all coal exports now used to make steel.

“The coal industry are fond of pretending that you cannot have steel without coal,” Greenpeace Climate and Energy Campaigner, Nikola Casule, said.

“This report demonstrates that not only is that simply not true but coal is, in fact, standing in the way of cleaner steelmaking techniques.”

The report found that Australian metallurgical coal exports produce nearly half a billion tonnes of CO2 offshore – 88 per cent as much greenhouse pollution as we produce domestically.

“This cannot continue if we want to try to protect national icons like the Great Barrier Reef and make good on our promise as part of the Paris climate accords to curb global warming for future generations,” Casule said.

“Coal is a dirty and outdated method of producing power and a dirty and outdated method of making steel.”

The report urges the Australian government to learn from the lessons of thermal coal and to make a planned transition away from metallurgical coal.

“Coal communities across Australia have already been left in the lurch by the Federal Government’s failure to anticipate or accept the decline of thermal coal,” Casule said.

“We cannot afford to make the same mistake with communities who currently rely on the metallurgical coal industry.

“The government must immediately plan and implement a just transition away from all forms of coal and shift to cleaner steel production.

“We have the opportunity for Australia to become a leader in clean steel production while also ensuring that it makes a meaningful contribution to global efforts to combat climate change.”

Notes for editors: 
“Steeling the Future” can be accessed at the below link: http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/en/what-we-do/climate/resources/reports/Steeling-the-Future/

For more information contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / [email protected]