The entire steel industry needs to take immediate action to make progress on the journey to net zero, and this progress needs to be mapped out in a universal language, finds a new report.

While leading steelmakers globally are beginning to take steps to decarbonize and low-emissions steel options are emerging on the market, these radical shifts to reduce emissions by a select number of industry leaders or first movers will not be sufficient, finds the Charting Progress to 1.5°C Through Certification report by ResponsibleSteel.

Using two base scenarios – the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s Net Zero Emissions by 2050, and the Mission Possible Partnership’s Carbon Cost – the report offers a detailed mapping of the progress needed for the global steel industry to achieve climate commitments under the Paris agreement.

The report was reviewed in-depth by representatives from the IEA, the Energy Transitions Commission and Systemiq, and has been endorsed by industry, civil society and intergovernmental organizations, including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Baowu Group, the Climate Group and Lendlease.

For the industry to meet its Paris agreement obligations, according to the report, every steel plant in the world needs to be emitting less than today’s average emissions intensity by 2030. In other words, following a 1.5 degree Celsius trajectory, today’s average emitters will become the industry’s worst offenders by 2030 if they do not take steps now to improve.

The report’s analysis of six key steelmaking regions clearly illustrates that there is a pathway for every part of the industry. Regional conditions, such as scrap availability, natural resource endowments, climate policies and available finance, will likely impact the speed and nature of industrial change, but there is no room for inaction.

Furthermore, steelmakers, the report argues, must start to look beyond their physical site boundaries. Indirect supply chain-related emissions could make up about one-third of total average sectoral emissions by 2050, so reducing these will prove critical to the steel industry’s transition.

“Transforming the steel industry will require bold and universal action,” says Annie Heaton, ResponsibleSteel’s CEO. “No one can sit on the sidelines. Our analysis shows how certification can be used both to plan and to track the progress of every site on an equitable basis. Those who are not certified cannot be tracked.”