tag:theconversation.com,2011:/au/topics/steel-1082/articlesSteel – The Conversation2024-03-12T19:14:40Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2192992024-03-12T19:14:40Z2024-03-12T19:14:40ZChina’s green steel push could crush Australia’s dirty iron ore exports<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580605/original/file-20240308-20-db5ci3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=51%2C594%2C5760%2C2742&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hot-steel-on-conveyor-mill-341057252">Zhao Jian Kang/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s <a href="https://www.ibisworld.com/australia/industry-trends/biggest-exporting-industries/">largest export</a>, iron ore, has long been a <a href="https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/iron-ore-exports">powerhouse</a> of economic growth. Over the past two decades, its contribution to our national income has <a href="https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/the-australian-goose-that-lays-the-multi-billion-dollar-iron-ore-eggs/#:%7E:text=Since%202005%2C%20Australia's%20total%20iron,ore%20in%20a%20mutual%20dependency.">surged</a> from just A$8 billion in 2005 to over A$124 billion today. </p>
<p>But the Australian iron ore industry faces a major challenge as its biggest customers – China’s steel mills – move to drastically reduce their <a href="https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/the-carbon-brief-profile-china/">carbon footprint</a>. </p>
<p>The issue lies in the purity of our product. Most of Australia’s current iron ore exports are not classed as high grade. Typically, the lower the iron content of an ore is, the <a href="https://ieefa.org/resources/australia-faces-growing-green-iron-competition-overseas">more energy is required</a> to refine it. </p>
<p>Our competitors – countries such as Brazil and Guinea with higher-grade ores in relative abundance – are positioned to become the steel industry’s suppliers of choice. </p>
<p>Australia could adapt its production to meet this change in demand. But if it doesn’t do so quickly, it may find itself left behind in the new green economy. </p>
<h2>Iron ore’s biggest customer cleans up its act</h2>
<p>China is the largest importer of Australian iron by a hefty margin. Australia shipped <a href="https://www.watc.wa.gov.au/media/lbopz4i3/wa-iron-ore-profile-march-2023.pdf">736 million tonnes</a> – more than 80% of iron ore exports – to China in 2022. </p>
<p>Last year, China’s steel mills made up <a href="https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/statistics/annual-production-steel-data/?ind=P1_crude_steel_total_pub/CHN/IND/WORLD_ALL">the majority of global steel production</a>. But they were also a major polluter, accounting for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1001074223001936?via%3Dihub">about 15%</a> of China’s total greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>They’re now facing a double whammy of decarbonisation pressures. </p>
<p>At home, the Chinese government has mandated the steel industry reduce its emissions as part of China’s wider <a href="https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/the-carbon-brief-profile-china/">“dual carbon” goals</a>. These will require emissions to peak before 2030 and for the country to become carbon neutral by 2060. </p>
<p>And internationally, <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_4685">upcoming tariffs</a> on carbon-intensive steel imports are set to make producing “dirty” steel much costlier. </p>
<h2>Australian ore doesn’t make the grade</h2>
<p>Making steel with low-grade iron ore isn’t at all carbon friendly. </p>
<p>For one, it <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290515326_Natural_resources_sustainability_Iron_ore_mining">consumes vastly more energy</a> in the traditional steelmaking process. My analysis shows that using one tonne of low-grade ore can emit over 200 kilograms more carbon dioxide in a blast furnace than high-grade.</p>
<p>A high level of impurities in low-grade ore also significantly reduces the efficiency of the process.</p>
<p>Reducing the use of low-grade ore has become a priority for Chinese steel mills, significantly affecting iron ore’s demand profile. </p>
<p>Much of the iron ore exported by competing nations like Brazil and Guinea is high-grade, containing <a href="https://ieefa.org/resources/australia-faces-growing-green-iron-competition-overseas">more than 65% iron</a>. But most of Australia’s current exports fall below that threshold, between <a href="https://ieefa.org/resources/australia-faces-growing-green-iron-competition-overseas">56% and 62%</a>.</p>
<h2>New technologies</h2>
<p>A number of new and emerging steelmaking technologies offer the promise of significantly lower emissions. </p>
<p>But common to all of them is a need for higher-grade iron ore than Australia produces.</p>
<p>There are four new steelmaking technologies in use or under construction by a number of Chinese steel corporations, including the world’s biggest steelmaker – <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/worlds-top-10-steelmakers-2023-12-19/#:%7E:text=1.,million%20metric%20tons%20last%20year.">China Baowu Group</a>. These include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>hydrogen-enriched carbon recycling and oxygen furnace (<a href="https://worldsteel.org/case-studies/environment/china-baowu-development-and-application-of-low-carbon-metallurgical-technology-based-on-hycrof/">HyCROF</a>) </p></li>
<li><p>hydrogen reduction and electric smelting process (<a href="https://yieh.com/en/NewsItem/145738">HyRESP</a>) </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12613-020-2021-4">hydrogen metallurgy</a> </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.seaisi.org/details/21695?type=news-rooms">green hydrogen zero carbon fluidized bed iron making technology</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Here’s how these technologies could help China reduce its carbon emissions:</p>
<iframe title="CO₂ emissions reduction (%) achieved by new steelmaking processes" aria-label="Column Chart" id="datawrapper-chart-PuGJ0" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/PuGJ0/3/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="653" data-external="1" width="100%"></iframe>
<h2>Increased use of steel scraps</h2>
<p>Global demand for steel is forecast to increase to <a href="https://www.woodmac.com/press-releases/decarbonising-global-iron-ore-and-steel-industry-by-2050-necessitates-urgent-action-and-us$1.4-trillion-of-investment/">2.2 billion tonnes by 2050</a>. </p>
<p>But that won’t all translate into greater demand for our iron ore.</p>
<p>Overall demand for iron ore could be reduced by the increasing availability and use of steel scraps or “recycled steel”, such as scrapped vehicles, white goods and machinery. </p>
<p>Using one tonne of recycled steel for steelmaking <a href="https://worldsteel.org/wp-content/uploads/Climate-change-production-of-iron-and-steel-2021.pdf">saves 1.4 tonnes of iron ore and avoids about 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions</a>.</p>
<h2>New tariffs on carbon</h2>
<p>A number of legislative measures are on the horizon for the global steel industry, which <a href="https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/report_2023">produced about 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions</a> in 2022. </p>
<p>One such international measure, the European Union’s Cross-Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), has further accelerated a global drive toward sustainable steelmaking. </p>
<p>This <a href="https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en">legislation</a> acts as a carbon tariff on imports to the EU, initially aimed at carbon-intensive products such as steel. It will be fully in force by 2026. </p>
<p>EU importers of steel products will be required to pay an import carbon tax, at a price set by the EU, based on the differences in carbon emissions between traditional steel mills and the EU’s emission benchmarks. </p>
<p>Being forced to charge higher prices for carbon-intensive steel products will incentivise non-European steel mills to accelerate their transition to green steel.</p>
<h2>What lies ahead</h2>
<p>The global transition to green steelmaking is bound to shape the future of Australia’s iron ore industry. Reduced demand for Australia’s low-grade iron ore could put pressure on its producers’ revenue, or even force some smaller iron ore miners to shut down. </p>
<p>But it also presents opportunities. Here are two ways Australia could ride the wave:</p>
<p><strong>1. Substantially increase production and export of magnetite.</strong></p>
<p>Australia is abundant in magnetite, an ore type which <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/minerals/mineral-resources-and-advice/australian-resource-reviews/iron-ore">differs in composition from hematite</a> or “direct shipping ore” (DSO). Magnetite has a low iron content (between 30 and 40%), but can be processed to a higher grade through a process of removing impurities known as “beneficiation”. This process is energy intensive, but could become economically viable if we continue to see rapid uptake of renewable energy. </p>
<p><strong>2. Build direct reduction plants here in Australia.</strong></p>
<p>Unlike the traditional blast furnace process, which uses coal as a source of energy, the direct reduction process uses hydrogen to reduce iron ore into iron without melting it. </p>
<p>There has been <a href="https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/australia-a-hydrogen-superpower-only-if-solar-costs-plummet-20240125-p5ezvr">much hype</a> around Australia’s potential to produce cheap hydrogen with renewable energy. But if we pull it off, we could <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360319923022930">stand at the forefront</a> of the green steel revolution as a global production hub of direct reduced iron. </p>
<p>Decisions made by Australia’s major iron ore producers and political leaders will shape the outcome of this global shift. Rather than fear the transition, Australia could take on a leading role. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/green-or-blue-hydrogen-what-difference-does-it-make-not-much-for-most-australians-223351">'Green' or 'blue' hydrogen – what difference does it make? Not much for most Australians</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/219299/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Charlie Huang does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>China’s steel mills are shifting to greener production processes which don’t favour Australian iron ore. Australian miners must quickly adapt or get left behind.Charlie Huang, Co-leader, Sustainable Global Business Operations and Development Research Group, School of Management, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2217972024-01-24T17:18:17Z2024-01-24T17:18:17ZWhat a fair deal for ex-steelworkers would look like as the industry decarbonises<p>Plans to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-68022901">cut almost 3,000 jobs</a> at the UK’s largest steelworks, Tata Steel in Port Talbot, south Wales, mark another devastating chapter in a long history of deindustrialisation.</p>
<p>The closure of steel plants in Ravenscraig, Ebbw Vale and Redcar will be haunting the steelworkers in Port Talbot, serving as a reminder of what is at stake. Although this so-called “restructuring” has sadly become the <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0038038519836850">norm</a>, former workers at other large steelworks are still scarred by loss of income, identity and skills in the <a href="https://www.vr.se/swecris?q=*&funding_organizations_sv=Forte&view=cards&sort=start_desc#/project/2018-00760_Forte">post-redundancy transition</a>.</p>
<p>Tata has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-68034598">expressed regret</a> at the hand it has dealt workers. There are <a href="https://www.tatasteeleurope.com/corporate/news/tata-steel-announces-next-steps-towards-green-steelmaking-in-uk">modest signs</a> it will work with trade unions and governments on what have been described as “transition boards”. This is to be backed by a £130 million support package that could arguably ensure the restructuring is conducted <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09585192.2021.1958248">responsibly</a>. Also, the intimacy between the steelworks and the local community mean Tata is compelled to provide support.</p>
<p>The steelworks is Port Talbot’s largest private sector employer. Workers, families, residents and local businesses depend on the steelworks to sustain their livelihoods and the fortunes of the town. </p>
<p>What’s more, according to <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/census/maps/choropleth/population/household-deprivation/hh-deprivation/household-is-deprived-in-one-dimension?lad=W06000012">ONS data</a> Port Talbot is one of the most deprived places in the UK, and a focus of the government’s “levelling up” agenda. Any job losses will reverberate throughout the region and their impact will be reinforced by wider inequalities across south Wales.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571201/original/file-20240124-27-xju6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Large industrial buildings" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571201/original/file-20240124-27-xju6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/571201/original/file-20240124-27-xju6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571201/original/file-20240124-27-xju6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571201/original/file-20240124-27-xju6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571201/original/file-20240124-27-xju6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571201/original/file-20240124-27-xju6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/571201/original/file-20240124-27-xju6l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The huge steelworks dominates the town of Port Talbot.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Leighton Collins / shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The move by Tata is because of environmental pressures to decarbonise steel production, primarily from coal-powered blast furnaces like those in Port Talbot. Instead, Tata will invest in an electric arc furnace that recycles scrap steel through an electrification process before being cast into steel products. </p>
<p>Despite its emissions, steel is considered one of six “<a href="https://www.ukri.org/what-we-do/browse-our-areas-of-investment-and-support/transforming-foundation-industries/">foundation industries</a>” as it remains essential for “green” products such as wind turbines, electric vehicles and low carbon homes.</p>
<h2>Jobs v environment</h2>
<p>Port Talbot therefore signifies another fateful episode in the tension between saving jobs versus saving the environment. This heightened vulnerability of the steel industry to environmental pressures brings the notion of a “<a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/just-transition-70759">just transition</a>” into sharp relief. </p>
<p>With its origins in the international trade union movement, a just transition focuses on ensuring that workers and communities most affected by the shift to a greener economy do not end up worse off. This can be achieved through dialogue between governments, companies, workers and community groups, and social interventions aimed at protecting jobs for the future.</p>
<p>Planning for such transitions is not new to the industry. At Tata Steel Europe in the Netherlands, unions and management recently concluded an <a href="https://www.unie.nl/en/jouw-cao-en-branche/tata-steel-sociaal-contract-groen-staal-akkoord-op-hoofdlijnen">agreement</a> known as the “Green Steel Social Contract”. The agreement maps out a just transition pathway that involves measures such as employment guarantees, monetary incentives related to retention and individual tailor-made employability plans. </p>
<p>Similarly, Swedish steelmaker SSAB has been working with trade union IF Metall for a number of years over the switch to greener steel production while securing jobs in the process. Although there are different national contexts, they demonstrate what at least might be possible.</p>
<h2>What next for steelworkers</h2>
<p>Part of the negotiations between stakeholders in a just transition process is identifying the types of education, training and qualifications that steelworkers might need to retrain. For example, although production through electric arc furnaces is less labour-intensive, more jobs may emerge in the manufacture of end products for which steelworkers would be well suited.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/system/files/a_bright_future_for_uk_steel_2.pdf">Scrap steel</a> can create blooms, billets and rods for use in construction and the production of industrial equipment. Other possibilities lie in learning new digital skills to help with robot-assisted production in the steel sector.</p>
<p>A huge caveat to retraining prospects for steelworkers is the extent of funding along with whether a meaningful industrial strategy reflects the regional labour market. Government intervention here is necessary to make sure the new skills match the available jobs. Further still, retraining raises questions over whether new jobs are of a similar quality, income and status, or if workers can relocate to new areas for work. </p>
<p><a href="https://community-tu.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Just-Transition-Report.pdf">Community union</a> found that following the closure of a large steel plant in Redcar, north-east England, those earning £30,000 a year dropped from 80% pre-closure to 35% post-closure, and 18% took two years to find a job post-redundancy. These constraints cannot be taken for granted, as they further compound the consequences of job losses for steelworkers.</p>
<p>A just transition should champion the needs of workers and communities while also recognising the needs of regional economies. This is where the steel unions come into play as they are strongly embedded in the workforce and local community. And perhaps regrettably, episodic restructuring has meant unions are well versed in mitigating its effects. </p>
<p>An alternative transition plan proposed by <a href="https://community-tu.org/statement-community-and-gmb-tata-steel-port-talbot/#d54f9c7a">unions</a> was already rejected by Tata. Whatever its reasons, Tata cannot deny the expertise and insights the unions have of the lives of workers and the south Wales region. If Tata seeks a transition that is just and socially acceptable to workers and communities, then it has no choice but to heed the legitimacy of the unions. For steelworkers in Port Talbot, “hope dies last”.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris McLachlan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tata Steel layoffs in Port Talbot reveal the tension between saving jobs and saving the environment.Chris McLachlan, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management, Queen Mary University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2147562023-12-01T17:52:49Z2023-12-01T17:52:49ZElectric arc furnaces: the technology poised to make British steelmaking more sustainable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556676/original/file-20231030-19-zblfpc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C0%2C5615%2C3741&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Steel production in an electric arc furnace.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/steel-production-electric-furnace-780620236">Norenko Andrey/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a move to embrace sustainable steelmaking, British Steel has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/nov/06/british-steel-scunthorpe-furnaces-jobs">unveiled</a> a £1.25 billion plan to replace two blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant with <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/electric-arc-furnace-process">electric arc furnaces</a>. This follows the UK government’s <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/welsh-steels-future-secured-as-uk-government-and-tata-steel-announce-port-talbot-green-transition-proposal">commitment</a> in September to <a href="https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/live-updates-thousands-job-losses-27716778">invest</a> up to £500 million towards an electric arc furnace at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant in south Wales.</p>
<p>This method of steelmaking can use up to 100% scrap steel as its raw material, resulting in a significant reduction in carbon emissions. It is the future of steelmaking. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1721521512086196450"}"></div></p>
<p>Steel is an incredible material and for good reason. It’s the world’s most commonly used metal because it’s strong, durable and recyclable, making it the perfect material for everything from skyscrapers to electric vehicles and solar panels. More than <a href="https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/statistics/annual-production-steel-data/?ind=P1_crude_steel_total_pub/WORLD_ALL/GBR">1.8 billion tonnes</a> of crude steel were produced globally last year. That number is only expected to grow as the world transitions to a more sustainable future.</p>
<p>The UK uses around 12 million tonnes of steel each year. And in 2022, it produced just under 6 million tonnes, contributing to around <a href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-2023-0016/CDP-2023-0016.pdf">2.4%</a> of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<h2>Electric arc furnaces</h2>
<p>There are <a href="https://www.eurofer.eu/about-steel/learn-about-steel/what-is-steel-and-how-is-steel-made">two main</a> steel production methods. Currently, Port Talbot and Scunthorpe use the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace method. The purpose of the blast furnace is to separate iron ore extracted from the ground into its component parts: iron and oxygen. </p>
<p>A form of carbon, normally coal, combines with the oxygen in the iron ore. The outputs of this process are iron and carbon dioxide. The basic oxygen furnace is then used to convert the iron into steel. </p>
<p>As a global average, this method of steelmaking emits around <a href="https://worldsteel.org/wp-content/uploads/Sustainability-Indicators-2022-report.pdf">2.32 tonnes</a> of CO₂ per tonne of steel produced. </p>
<p>An electric arc furnace works by generating a high-temperature arc between graphite electrodes, using electricity as the energy source. This arc is then used to melt metal inside a chamber. </p>
<p>Using this method, up to 100% scrap steel can be used as the raw material, while the blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace method can only use a maximum of <a href="https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/raw-materials/">30% scrap</a>. A switch to the electric arc furnace method could reduce emissions to 0.67 tonnes of CO₂ per tonne of steel produced when using 100% scrap steel.</p>
<p>In the future, it is also possible the electricity needed for electric arc furnace processes could come from 100% renewable sources, whereas a form of carbon will always be needed to reduce iron ore when using the blast furnace method.</p>
<h2>Recycled steel</h2>
<p>Steel is the most recycled material in the <a href="https://worldsteel.org/about-steel/steel-industry-facts/steel-core-green-economy/">world</a>, and so scrap steel is quickly becoming a crucial raw material. In 2021, the global steel industry recycled around 680 million tonnes of scrap steel. This equates to <a href="https://worldsteel.org/about-steel/steel-facts?fact=53">savings</a> of almost 1 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions, compared to using virgin steel production. </p>
<p>In 2021, more than <a href="https://www.bir.org/images/BIR-pdf/Ferrous_report_2017-2021_lr.pdf">8.2 million tonnes</a> of steel scrap was exported from the UK. If collected and sorted more carefully, using this material domestically could provide both environmental and economic value, by helping to meet growing national demand for steel.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large steelworks lit up at night." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6015%2C3357&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=335&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/556639/original/file-20231030-27-aeouwv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=421&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">The Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot, south Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/port-talbot-wales-uk-industrial-landscape-1264187401">Christopher Willans/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>We know that steel produced with an electric arc furnace can have different properties to blast furnace produced material. A large factor in this is the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03019233.2020.1805276">quality of scrap steel</a> used in the electric arc furnace – if the scrap steel quality is low, then so will the quality of the output.</p>
<p>With that in mind, there is a need for research, innovation and skills development to ensure this transition to lower-carbon steelmaking methods is successful. </p>
<p>Finding and sorting the right types of scrap material, confirming material properties and increasing supply chain understanding of electric arc furnace steelmaking are all necessary for a wide range of steel products to continue to be made in the UK.</p>
<h2>Sustainable steelmaking</h2>
<p>There is a race across Europe to secure investment for sustainable steelmaking technologies. <a href="https://www.hybritdevelopment.se/en/">Hybrit</a> is a fossil-free steel project in Sweden between several major steel producers and is already underway. </p>
<p>This follows plans to invest almost <a href="https://energypost.eu/hybrit-project-sweden-goes-for-zero-carbon-steel/">€40 billion</a> (almost £35 billion) in low-emission steelmaking technologies over the next 20 years. Also in Sweden, the company H2 Green Steel has secured <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/swedens-h2-green-steel-gains-support-345-bln-debt-funding-fossil-fuel-free-plant-2022-10-24/">€3.5 billion</a> (£3 billion) to build a hydrogen-powered steel plant.</p>
<p>In July 2023, the German government announced €2 billion (£1.7 billion) of <a href="https://www.euractiv.com/section/politics/news/eu-commission-oks-e2-billion-state-aid-for-ailing-german-steel-sector/">support</a> for Thyssenkrupp, the steel multinational. And that was on top of the €3 billion (£2.6 billion) it had previously announced to support the country’s industrial green transition. A</p>
<p>ArcelorMittal, the second largest steel producer in the world, has also announced green investment in their plants in <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3404">Belgium</a> and <a href="https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/climate-action/decarbonisation-investment-plans/spain-a-1-billion-investment-to-halve-our-carbon-emissions-and-create-the-world-s-first-full-scale-zero-carbon-emissions-steel-plant">Spain</a>, totalling more than €1.2 billion (£1.5 billion).</p>
<p>While the UK government has <a href="https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/the-uk-should-lead-on-a-green-industrial-strategy-not-roll-back/">no published</a> industrial strategy, other organisations have produced roadmaps for decarbonised steelmaking in the UK. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.energy-transitions.org/new-report-breakthrough-steel-investment/">report</a> by the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of energy leaders committed to net-zero emissions, outlined plans for investing in low-emission steelmaking in early 2023. With the right level of government and private sector investment, the UK could become a world leader in green steelmaking – but only it acts now.</p>
<p>As global temperatures continue to rise and the climate emergency deepens, the need for a decarbonised steel industry is greater than ever. Lower carbon methods of steel production are the future of the industry both in the UK and around the world.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/214756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Becky Waldram receives funding from EPSRC, as part of the SUSTAIN Hub (Strategic University Steel Technology and Innovation Network). She is member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining. </span></em></p>Electric arc furnaces can use up to 100% scrap steel as its raw material, resulting in a significant reduction in emissions.Becky Waldram, Materials Scientist and SUSTAIN Impact & Engagement Manager, Swansea UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2187732023-11-29T18:46:11Z2023-11-29T18:46:11ZThe path to net-zero emissions runs through industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562291/original/file-20231128-23-zrg8sr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C49%2C6636%2C4357&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Steel factories, like this one in China, are major sources of greenhouse gas emissions.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/smoke-billows-from-a-large-steel-plant-as-a-chinese-news-photo/625667906">Kevin Frayer/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As government leaders and climate negotiators gather in Dubai for the COP28 United Nations climate conference, an enormous challenge looms over the proceedings: decarbonizing the global industrial sector.</p>
<p>Industry has accounted for <a href="https://www.weforum.org/press/2023/11/net-zero-industry-tracker-13-5-trillion-investment-needed-to-fast-track-decarbonization-of-key-hard-to-abate-industry-sectors">over 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions</a> in recent years. It is the single largest emitting sector when accounting for its electricity use and heat generation.</p>
<p>For countries to meet their goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions, stopping emissions from carbon-intensive industries like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2022.102565">steel</a>, <a href="https://www.iea.org/energy-system/industry/cement">cement</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.102955">chemicals</a> is imperative.</p>
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<p>There are promising technologies and innovations that can drive decarbonization in industry: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102208">green hydrogen</a> fuel made from clean electricity and water, energy efficiency measures across supply chains, and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2023.113215">carbon capture, use and storage</a> to name a few.</p>
<p>However, these solutions have yet to be deployed at the speed and scale required to slow global warming. </p>
<p>Global industrial emissions will need to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103067">fall by 25% by 2030</a> for the world to be on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 – a target espoused by many of the world’s largest economies. That’s an extremely steep decline of 3% per year, and it will require a massive mobilization of money, technology and political will.</p>
<p>The positive news is that many countries are taking steps in the right direction. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/big-new-incentives-for-clean-energy-arent-enough-the-inflation-reduction-act-was-just-the-first-step-now-the-hard-work-begins-188693">U.S. Inflation Reduction Act</a>, signed in 2022, includes approximately US$80 billion per year for climate initiatives from 2022-27, with provisions to spur clean technology deployment and incentivize emissions reductions across industrial sectors. </p>
<p>But efforts in developed countries, while commendable, are insufficient to drive global decarbonization at the <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2023">pace needed to keep global warming in check</a>. Developing countries face enormous barriers to adopting low-carbon technologies, from lack of infrastructure to insufficient skills and capacity.</p>
<p>In a recent paper in the journal Energy Research & Social Science, drawing from a series of deep dives on specific industries, we set out <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103067">a comprehensive road map for decarbonizing industry</a> around the globe. Here are some of the key points.</p>
<h2>Scaling up finance</h2>
<p>First and foremost, there needs to be a radical scale-up of financing for industrial decarbonization in the developing world. Annual investments will have to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103067">increase at least sevenfold by 2030</a> to get the world on track to reach net-zero emissions by mid-century.</p>
<p>Grants, loans, risk guarantees and equity investments provided through public and private institutions can help mobilize both public and private investments to meet that goal. That funding can start with developed countries meeting and exceeding their commitment to provide $100 billion in climate finance for developing countries every year. Developed countries bear the <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-co-emissions-by-region">bulk of responsibility for past emissions</a> that have fueled climate change.</p>
<h2>More technology transfer</h2>
<p>Decarbonization will move faster if developed countries accelerate their technology transfer to the Global South. That is, making sure that developing economies receive the advanced technologies needed and are included in global value chains. </p>
<p>With the majority of industrial emissions expected to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103067">come from emerging economies by mid-century</a>, spreading knowledge and expertise will be critical. Partnerships between countries and companies can facilitate demonstration projects for new technologies like green hydrogen and carbon capture in developing nations.</p>
<h2>Improved job training</h2>
<p>The net-zero transition will also require a massive workforce with new capabilities, so investing in human capital and skills training is essential.</p>
<p>Companies and governments can collaborate to develop curriculums and apprenticeship programs focused on green technologies. Building this pipeline of talent to build and install renewable energy such as solar panels and appliances like heat pumps needs to start now. While demand for these technologies is high, <a href="https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2023/9/growing-the-economy-of-the-future-job-training-for-the-clean-energy-transition">one of the key constraints to their rapid growth</a> is workforce development – across geographies and technology types. </p>
<h2>Ensuring a just transition</h2>
<p>Another priority is a just transition for communities that have relied on fossil fuels for generations. As industries transform, some jobs will be lost while new ones are created. Ensuring that the economic and environmental benefits spread across economies <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2021.102245">will require robust government and industry programs</a> to assist displaced workers.</p>
<h2>Establishing a global treaty</h2>
<p>Finally, a new global treaty to coordinate industrial decarbonization <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2023.103067">will likely be necessary</a> to move fast enough. The treaty could establish standards, incentivize coordination on policies and avoid unfair competition as countries shift to net-zero industries.</p>
<p>“Climate clubs” – groups of developed and developing countries working together to reduce emissions from specific industrial sectors – may also foster progress and technology sharing as they jointly implement decarbonization goals.</p>
<p>In our view, the path to net-zero emissions industries will be challenging but not impossible.</p>
<p>With smart policy, investments in technology and human capital, and bold leadership from countries in the Global North and Global South, we believe that decarbonizing heavy industry could become the next big climate and economic development success story.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218773/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Morgan Bazilian is a member of the Irish Climate Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin K. Sovacool and Steven Griffiths do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Industry is a leading climate polluter: Our road map shows what’s needed to cut industrial emissions in fast-growing countries.Morgan Bazilian, Professor of Public Policy and Director, Payne Institute, Colorado School of MinesBenjamin K. Sovacool, Professor of Energy Policy, SPRU, University of Sussex Business School, University of SussexSteven Griffiths, Senior Vice President, Research and Development and Professor, Khalifa UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1993052023-02-08T19:10:08Z2023-02-08T19:10:08ZThe coal whack-a-mole: getting rid of coal power will make prices fall and demand rise elsewhere<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508792/original/file-20230208-27-etru66.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=8%2C35%2C2919%2C1883&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The fight against climate change is full of inconvenient truths. The latest? Coal is going to be harder to get rid of than we had hoped. Every victory like the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/feb/08/australia-politics-live-parliament-code-of-conduct-anthony-albanese-peter-dutton-bullying-workplace-indigenous-voice-safeguard-mechanism-emissions-interest-rates-reserve-bank-jim-chalmers?filterKeyEvents=false&page=with:block-63e326ac8f08398676704b28#block-63e326ac8f08398676704b28">rejection</a> of Clive Palmer’s proposed Rockhampton coal mine seems to be offset by coal’s gains elsewhere.</p>
<p>Potsdam Institute experts this week <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01570-8">published research</a> suggesting we have less than 5% chance of actually <a href="https://climateanalytics.org/publications/2019/coal-phase-out-insights-from-the-ipcc-special-report-on-15c-and-global-trends-since-2015/">ending coal use</a> by 2050. That would make the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global heating under 1.5°C all but impossible. </p>
<p>Why? Supply and demand coupled with domestic policies and priorities. While coal power is likely to drop sharply, coal use will rebound in other sectors, according to the research. Why? As some countries move to clean energy, the price of coal will fall. Once coal is cheaper, other countries or domestic sectors such as steelmaking are likely to seize the opportunity and buy more. The researchers estimate for every 100 joules of coal not burned in power plants, an extra 54 joules will be burned in other sectors, in a trend they dub “coal leakage”. </p>
<p>Leakage poses a new challenge, just as the world seems set to accelerate climate action. The only answer? Accelerate <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01574-4">even faster</a>.</p>
<h2>Fossil fuels are extraordinarily resilient</h2>
<p>What this study tells us is our current efforts won’t be enough – even with the current tailwinds of Europe’s gas crisis and plunging renewable costs. </p>
<p>In 2017, nations at the annual United Nations climate talks launched the <a href="https://poweringpastcoal.org/members/">Powering Past Coal Alliance</a> in an effort to speed up action. But according to the Potsdam research, efforts by the 48 nations and 49 sub-national regions involved could be counterproductive. </p>
<p>That’s because members of this alliance haven’t taken steps to avoid the risk of rebound coal use – even elsewhere in their own economies. </p>
<p>Depressingly, this is part of a trend. The fossil fuel sector is proving powerfully resistant to change. The world <a href="https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html">keeps on burning</a> more fossil fuels despite the COVID lockdown drop in 2020. Coal burning increased by 6.3% in 2021, and the International Energy Agency estimates this figure <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/the-world-s-coal-consumption-is-set-to-reach-a-new-high-in-2022-as-the-energy-crisis-shakes-markets">will have</a> increased again by 1.2% in 2022 to reach a historic high. </p>
<p>Russia’s invasion of Ukraine saw coal use soar, as Europe weaned itself off Russian gas. Germany had to delay its plans to quit coal power within 15 years and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-22/germany-returns-to-coal-as-energy-security-trumps-climate-goals">fire up</a> coal plants again over the winter, while Japan’s reliance on coal has <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1117127/japan-import-volume-coal/">only grown</a> in recent years. </p>
<p>In developing countries, coal is seen as a cheap, convenient and proven way to power the economy. China is far and away the world’s largest coal user – and producer. The downside has been terrible air pollution. That forced the government to <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2007513117">force millions of households</a> to replace coal with natural gas or electricity for heating, while supercharging its renewable sector, which <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/commodityinsights/en/market-insights/latest-news/energy-transition/092322-china-could-exceed-renewables-generation-target-of-33-by-2025#:%7E:text=China's%20energy%20regulator%20National%20Energy,29.4%25%20of%20total%20electricity%20consumption.">now produces</a> almost 30% of its electricity. </p>
<p>But as China’s economy slows and energy shortages increase, the government <a href="https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3205603/how-china-can-solve-its-energy-trilemma-and-avoid-climate-policy-swing?module">has backtracked</a> and approved 300 million tonnes of new coal production capacity in 2022, on top of 220 million tons of capacity added in 2021. That’s more than all the coal Australia produced in 2021 (478 million tonnes). </p>
<p>New coal power projects have also been boosted, with 65 gigawatts of new coal power projects approved by the Chinese government in the first 11 months of 2022 – more than three times the capacity approved in 2021. </p>
<p>It’s no wonder coal and other fossil fuel producers are enjoying windfall profits. Australian coal exporters earned <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/15/australias-coal-exporters-made-windfall-profit-of-45bn-last-year-report-estimates">A$45 billion</a> over 2021–22 thanks to soaring prices in the international market. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508794/original/file-20230208-23-cf6q3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="china air pollution" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508794/original/file-20230208-23-cf6q3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508794/original/file-20230208-23-cf6q3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508794/original/file-20230208-23-cf6q3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508794/original/file-20230208-23-cf6q3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508794/original/file-20230208-23-cf6q3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508794/original/file-20230208-23-cf6q3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508794/original/file-20230208-23-cf6q3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">China has tried to shift away from coal burning to cut air pollution - but last year moved to mine more than before.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>What about the huge investment in renewables?</h2>
<p>You might read this with your heart sinking and think – wait, wasn’t 2022 the first year the world invested more than <a href="https://about.bnef.com/blog/global-low-carbon-energy-technology-investment-surges-past-1-trillion-for-the-first-time/">US$1 trillion</a> (A$1.44 trillion) in clean energy? How can coal rebound while we switch to clean energy? </p>
<p>Yes, we’ve seen stunning and welcome growth in green energy technologies and related industries. This has been driven by government policies, corporate demand for clean energy and the ever-increasing market competitiveness of solar, wind and offshore wind.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/tensions-and-war-undermine-climate-cooperation-but-theres-a-silver-lining-193847">Tensions and war undermine climate cooperation – but there's a silver lining</a>
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<p>Unfortunately, what this new research tells us is that both are true. Renewables are racing ahead. But the world’s demand for energy grows and grows as nations get richer and the population grows. To phase out fossil fuels remains the hardest challenge we face. The solutions will have to be hashed out politically. </p>
<p>After all, we now have <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/07/climate-crisis-miracle-technology-wind-water-solar">almost all</a> the technologies we need to stop burning fossil fuels. (Aviation, cargo ships and steelmaking are some of the hardest sectors to clean up.)</p>
<h2>What do we do?</h2>
<p>Put simply, we’re almost out of time. Any delay in ending our reliance on coal and keeping those carbon-dioxide dense rocks safely stored in the ground is extremely dangerous. </p>
<p>Sustained political effort does work. Even though Germany had to reopen some coal plants, their reliance on coal for electricity fell from 60% in 1985 to below 30% in 2020. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1622667157816451092"}"></div></p>
<p>To end coal means clamping down on free-riders. Australia is a good case study. The companies which own our doddering old coal stations are heading for the exit as quickly as they can. Even the newest coal power stations are expected to have <a href="https://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/McGowan/2022/06/State-owned-coal-power-stations-to-be-retired-by-2030.aspx">shorter lifetimes</a> than anticipated. But to date, there’s been little effort to ensure coal doesn’t simply get burned in, say, steelworks. </p>
<p>Internationally, developed countries should offer greater financial incentives to help developing countries switch to renewables. In 2021, rich countries offered billions to South Africa to quit coal. Last year, they made a similar offer to Indonesia. This is welcome – but we need more. </p>
<p>Worldwide, 770 million people <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/sdg7-data-and-projections/access-to-electricity">still live</a> without access to electricity. For years, China used this <a href="https://chinadialogue.net/en/business/9785-china-s-belt-and-road-initiative-still-pushing-coal/">as a justification</a> for funding coal plants overseas. But in 2021, President Xi Jinping announced this <a href="https://www.eastasiaforum.org/2021/11/09/china-closes-the-door-to-coal/">would end</a>. </p>
<p>Moves like this are essential. We can’t simply expect markets to end the burning of coal as quickly as we need. That means we’ll need policies to do the work. </p>
<p>To nail down the coffin on fossil fuels, we have to embrace what economists call “creative destruction” – the ability for technologies <a href="https://www.developmental-environmentalism.org/">to disrupt</a> the old and create the new. Coal and oil ended centuries of reliance on horses for transport. Now it’s time to end our reliance on fossil fuels – to destroy the old and make room for the new. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/6-reasons-2023-could-be-a-very-good-year-for-climate-action-197680">6 reasons 2023 could be a very good year for climate action</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199305/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hao Tan receives funding from the Australia Research Council (ARC) Discovery Project 2019-2023. He previously received fundings from the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, from Enova Community Energy Ltd, and funding from the Confucius Institute Headquarters under the "Understanding China Fellowship" in 2017.</span></em></p>Even as renewables boom like never before, our reliance on fossil fuels remains stubbornly high. One problem? The rebound effectHao Tan, Associate Professor, Newcastle Business School, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1980722023-01-23T13:24:12Z2023-01-23T13:24:12ZAs US-EU trade tensions rise, conflicting carbon tariffs could undermine climate efforts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505410/original/file-20230119-5268-omk19c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C8%2C3000%2C1922&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The U.S. and EU are headed in different directions with tariffs, including on steel.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/worker-cuts-through-a-glowing-2-000-degrees-fahrenheit-news-photo/1463835"> David McNew/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Rising trade tensions between the U.S. and the European Union, two of the most important global leaders when it comes to climate policy, could undermine key climate initiatives of both governments and make it harder for the world to put the brakes on climate change.</p>
<p>The two have clashed over the <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/the-inflation-reduction-act-heres-whats-in-it">2022 Inflation Reduction Act’s</a> requirements that products be made in America to receive certain U.S. subsidies. The EU recently announced plans for <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-hits-emergency-button-to-save-european-industry/">its own domestic-only</a> clean technology subsidies in response.</p>
<p>The U.S. and EU also now have competing carbon tariff proposals, and these could end up undermining each other.</p>
<p>In December 2022, the EU reached a <a href="https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/12/13/eu-climate-action-provisional-agreement-reached-on-carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-cbam/">provisional agreement</a> on a carbon border adjustment mechanism. It will put carbon-based <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20221212IPR64509/deal-reached-on-new-carbon-leakage-instrument-to-raise-global-climate-ambition">tariffs</a> on steel, aluminum and other industrial imports that aren’t regulated by comparable climate policies in their home countries. The Biden administration, meanwhile, proposed a “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/business/economy/steel-tariffs-climate-change.html">green steel club</a>” of nations that would cooperate on reducing emissions by levying tariffs on relatively high-emission imports.</p>
<p>At first glance, the two approaches might seem similar. But the EU and U.S. proposals reflect starkly different and arguably incompatible visions for the intersection of climate and trade policies.</p>
<p>A failure to align approaches risks further stoking trade tensions and would likely have international repercussions. Without multinational coalitions, dirtier, lower-cost competition will undercut emerging low-carbon technologies. </p>
<p>A strong transatlantic partnership is a prerequisite to greening the global economy. Without creative compromises and skillful diplomacy, the EU may find that its tariffs lead to reprisals rather than reciprocal action, and the U.S. quest to create climate clubs will not get off the ground.</p>
<h2>EU’s textbook approach to tariffs</h2>
<p>The carbon border adjustment mechanism, or CBAM, is tied to the EU’s flagship climate policy, <a href="https://climate.ec.europa.eu/eu-action/eu-emissions-trading-system-eu-ets/development-eu-ets-2005-2020_en">its emission trading system</a>. The system requires large European factories and other greenhouse gas emitters to purchase allowances for each ton of carbon dioxide they release. It’s a form of a carbon price.</p>
<p>However, if only European industries have to pay this carbon price, the EU risks domestic production’s losing out to imports from countries with weaker regulations on emissions. This phenomenon, referred to as “carbon leakage,” can result in even dirtier industrial production.</p>
<p>To date, the EU has avoided carbon leakage by compensating domestic producers of certain industrial products with free emissions allowances. But that approach is becoming increasingly expensive as the <a href="https://www.catf.us/2022/08/why-are-carbon-contracts-difference-gaining-popularity-europe/">carbon price rises</a>, with a recent trading range of 70 to 100 euros per metric ton. <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_21_3661">The CBAM</a> makes it possible to phase out these free allowances by phasing in tariffs on imports from countries without comparable carbon pricing policies. Once finalized, the tariffs could be applied starting in 2026.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e-gc682xVcg?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">How the EU’s carbon border adjustment would work.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The CBAM has been met with some international outrage, with the “<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/09/12/brics-how-a-goldman-sachs-acronym-became-a-strategic-economic-bloc.html">BRICS” countries</a> – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – calling it “<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/brics-nations-join-india-in-opposing-eu-carbon-tax/articleshow/85704371.cms">discriminatory</a>” and a U.S. senator accusing the EU of going “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-eu-goes-rogue-on-climate-policy-clean-energy-greenhouse-gas-carbon-tax-policy-emissions-environmental-standards-11671054303">rogue</a>.”</p>
<p>In reality, the CBAM treats domestic products and imports equally by applying the same carbon price, just as any economics textbook recommends. It also aims to further global climate action by giving other countries the incentive to implement their own carbon pricing policies.</p>
<h2>Biden’s climate club approach</h2>
<p>Unlike the EU, the U.S. has failed to adopt a national carbon price despite <a href="https://epic.uchicago.edu/news/lessons-learned-from-the-last-major-u-s-climate-bill-lobbying-takes-its-toll/">several attempts</a>. The Inflation Reduction Act instead fills the federal climate policy void largely by offering subsidies for producing clean energy.</p>
<p>However, subsidies to American producers won’t reduce emissions from other countries’ production of internationally traded products.</p>
<p>For example, steel <a href="https://www.globalefficiencyintel.com/steel-climate-impact-international-benchmarking-energy-co2-intensities">accounts for 11% of global</a> carbon dioxide emissions, with the vast majority from East Asia, including 53% of global production from China. Transforming Chinese production is therefore critical to lowering emissions.</p>
<p>Encouraging a global shift to cleaner production methods will require international cooperation, including trade measures that enable expensive low-carbon investments and penalize high-emissions steel production.</p>
<p>President Joe Biden needed an approach to climate tariffs that would benefit U.S. producers without requiring a politically untenable carbon price. His <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/07/business/economy/steel-tariffs-climate-change.html">proposed</a> green steel club is an agreement among countries that would commit their steel and aluminum industries to meeting certain emissions standards. Tariffs would be imposed on imports that exceed the standard or come from countries that are not signatories to the agreement.</p>
<p>Most U.S. manufacturers would benefit. U.S. steel typically produces fewer emissions than its competitors. The desire to exploit this “<a href="https://clcouncil.org/report/americas-carbon-advantage/">carbon advantage</a>” has taken hold with politicians on <a href="https://www.eenews.net/articles/republicans-propose-border-carbon-tax/">both</a> <a href="https://www.coons.senate.gov/news/press-releases/sen-coons-rep-peters-introduce-legislation-to-support-us-workers-and-international-climate-cooperation">sides</a> of the aisle.</p>
<p>Biden’s plan could be the first “climate club” of nations, consistent with the recommendations of an increasing <a href="https://rooseveltinstitute.org/publications/a-green-steel-deal-towards-pro-jobs-pro-climate-trans-atlantic-cooperation-on-carbon-border-measure/">number</a> of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01383-9">policy experts</a>. In <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691224558/fixing-the-climate">a recent book</a>, Charles Sabel and David Victor suggest building on the international success in phasing out ozone-depleting chemicals: <a href="https://www.unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol">The Montreal Protocol</a> used a combination of cooperative learning, penalties and pools of resources for countries in need of technical and financial support.</p>
<h2>Creative ways to cooperate</h2>
<p>The two visions for climate policy tariffs involve different paths toward somewhat different goals, so they cannot easily be reconciled. The premise of the EU strategy is that tariffs are necessary to ensure that climate policies impose the same costs on domestic and foreign emitters. In contrast, the U.S. is proposing tariffs that penalize producers with high emissions.</p>
<p>The U.S. cannot pursue the EU approach without some form of a national carbon price. At the same time, the EU is unlikely to abandon its long-planned and laboriously negotiated CBAM, particularly to partner with a White House that may have a different occupant in two years.</p>
<p>There are, however, pathways forward that blend elements of both visions.</p>
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<img alt="Two men in business suits, one with dark hair and one with white hair, gesture as they talk to each other and walk along a formal colonnade." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505456/original/file-20230119-13-enre46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/505456/original/file-20230119-13-enre46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505456/original/file-20230119-13-enre46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505456/original/file-20230119-13-enre46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505456/original/file-20230119-13-enre46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505456/original/file-20230119-13-enre46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/505456/original/file-20230119-13-enre46.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron have clashed over subsidy rules in the Inflation Reduction Act.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/president-joe-biden-and-french-president-emmanuel-macron-news-photo/1245271895">Jim Watson-Pool/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>For example, parts of the CBAM, including the linkage to the EU carbon price, could be included as elements of climate clubs, including Biden’s green steel club. That may enable the EU to retain hard-fought progress on its emissions trading system.</p>
<p>Alternatively, some U.S. senators <a href="https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/whitehouse-and-colleagues-introduce-clean-competition-act-to-boost-domestic-manufacturers-and-tackle-climate-change">are pushing legislation</a> to create a U.S. carbon border adjustment, including a domestic carbon price and a tariff on imports of some energy-intensive products like steel and aluminum. Bipartisan support for such legislation would create a basis for a durable compromise with the EU. However, even a narrow carbon price on industrial products may not be politically viable in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.</p>
<h2>Looking ahead</h2>
<p>Any unilateral use of tariffs will strain sensitive geopolitical relationships.</p>
<p>By pursuing compromise rather than conflict, the U.S. and EU can leverage their joint economic strength to create a powerful coalition that encourages low-carbon industrial production around the globe, including in China and India, without ceding domestic advantages.</p>
<p>In our view, both sides have ample reasons to find common ground.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198072/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Noah Kaufman is a research scholar at Columbia University's SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy. He was previously a senior economist at the Council of Economic Advisers. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Bataille is an Adjunct Research Fellow with the Center for Global Energy Policy (CGEP) of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gautam Jain is a Senior Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA)</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sagatom Saha is an adjunct research scholar at Columbia University's SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy. He previously served in the International Trade Administration at the U.S. Commerce Department and the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.</span></em></p>Both sides have reason to find common ground, says a group of energy and climate policy analysts.Noah Kaufman, Research Scholar in Climate Economics, Columbia UniversityChris Bataille, Research Fellow in Energy and Climate Policy, Columbia UniversityGautam Jain, Senior Research Scholar in Financial Markets, Columbia UniversitySagatom Saha, Research Scholar in Energy Policy, Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1833072022-12-02T20:13:56Z2022-12-02T20:13:56ZHigh fossil fuel prices mean UK cannot delay transition to low emissions steel<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498470/original/file-20221201-20-7rve2y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5615%2C3741&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/steel-production-electric-furnace-780621709">Norenko Andrey/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Steel is <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadmap">essential</a> for making many of the technologies that will end fossil fuel combustion, including electric vehicles, wind turbines and solar panels. Unfortunately, to produce a lot of steel, manufacturers need to burn a lot of fossil fuel.</p>
<p>Steel production accounted for 2% of the UK’s emissions in <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/final-uk-greenhouse-gas-emissions-national-statistics-1990-to-2019">2019</a> and ranks <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadmap">second</a> for energy consumption among the country’s heavy industries. Roughly <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadmap">two-thirds</a> of this energy comes from coal. </p>
<p>The blast furnaces of steelworks burn a special type called coking coal (which is converted to a hard and porous fuel known as coke) at temperatures of up to 2,000°C, producing large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) – around 1.8 tonnes for <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5877e86f9de4bb8bce72105c/t/60c136b38eeef914f9cf4b95/1623275195911/How+Clean+is+the+U.S.+Steel+Industry.pdf">each tonne of steel</a>. This method accounted for 82% of steel production in the UK in <a href="https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/statistics/world-steel-in-figures-2022">2021</a>, and 71% of all steel made worldwide that year.</p>
<p>While coal-based steelmaking can be decarbonised to an extent by capturing the CO₂, there has to be a suitable storage site nearby or sufficient demand for using that CO₂ in other industries. This is not the case for the blast furnaces in Port Talbot, Wales, which account for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/20/port-talbot-steelworks-owner-tata-steel-first-pre-tax-profit-in-13-years">half of UK steel production</a>.</p>
<p>Coking coal prices have <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/metals-and-mining/our-insights/high-coking-coal-prices-provide-glimpse-into-steelmakings-future#0">more than doubled</a> since the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/coal-price">beginning of the pandemic</a> and the invasion of Ukraine has disrupted supplies. In <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1064482/ET_2.4_MAR_22.xlsx#:%7E:text=Coking%20coal%20imports%20were%20up,cent%20of%20total%20coal%20imports.">2021</a>, the UK imported 39% of its coking coal from Russia, with almost all of the rest coming from the US and Australia. </p>
<p>Another option is to use natural gas, another fossil fuel. But <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fossil-fuel-price-assumptions-2019">since 2020</a>, gas prices have also risen considerably. These recent fuel cost hikes demand a reassessment of how steel is made.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A metallurgical plant at night with chimneys belching smoke." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478327/original/file-20220809-14-ixx1nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/478327/original/file-20220809-14-ixx1nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478327/original/file-20220809-14-ixx1nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478327/original/file-20220809-14-ixx1nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478327/original/file-20220809-14-ixx1nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478327/original/file-20220809-14-ixx1nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/478327/original/file-20220809-14-ixx1nq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">High coal prices make coal-based steelmaking less attractive for producers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-metallurgical-plant-blast-furnace-1624978153">ArtEvent ET/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Steelmaking with green hydrogen (hydrogen that has been split from water using electricity generated by renewables or nuclear power) removes fossil fuels from the process altogether. As a result, it could be insulated from increases in fossil fuel prices and <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/carbon">carbon taxes</a>, all of which have made steelmaking with fossil fuels more expensive in recent years.</p>
<p>The UK steel industry is currently given a free allocation of <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/participating-in-the-uk-ets/participating-in-the-uk-ets#free-allocation-of-allowances">emissions allowances</a>, which significantly lowers the effective carbon price paid by steel producers. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113100">Our recent research</a> shows that, if this exemption were phased out gradually, steelmaking with green hydrogen produced using wind and solar electricity would in fact be cheaper than all other options. </p>
<h2>Green steel</h2>
<p>Hydrogen can convert iron ore to a pure form known as sponge iron through a process known as direct reduction. This involves heating hydrogen to between 800 and 1,000°C which reacts with the oxygen in iron ore to leave pure iron and water vapour, with no carbon emissions. The sponge iron is then processed in an electric arc furnace to produce steel. </p>
<p>Electric arc furnaces can also recycle scrap metal, and while the UK has no direct reduction furnaces, it already has <a href="https://ember-climate.org/insights/research/mapping-coal-use-in-the-uk-steel-sector/">five</a> electric arc furnaces that recycle scrap to provide <a href="https://worldsteel.org/steel-topics/statistics/world-steel-in-figures-2022">18%</a> of the nation’s steel. If renewable electricity powered these furnaces and was used to generate the hydrogen that fuels the production of sponge iron, then total emissions from the steel industry could be zero.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A suspended cylinder spewing molten metal." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498469/original/file-20221201-12-muytrd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/498469/original/file-20221201-12-muytrd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498469/original/file-20221201-12-muytrd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498469/original/file-20221201-12-muytrd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498469/original/file-20221201-12-muytrd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498469/original/file-20221201-12-muytrd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/498469/original/file-20221201-12-muytrd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electric arc furnaces cut out fossil fuels, but are still expensive to run.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/metallurgy-casting-ingot-electric-arc-furnace-1489943129">D.Alimkin/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The EU and UK have both <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/impact-eu-uk-steel-industry-bans-russian-coal-imports-2022-04-08/">committed</a> to ending imports of Russian coal in 2022, and large producers such as <a href="https://eurometal.net/tata-steel-closes-russian-business-ties/">Tata Steel</a> and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-22/arcelormittal-removes-russian-materials-from-steel-supply-chain">ArcelorMittal</a> have already stopped using Russian commodities in their supply chains. </p>
<p>While high gas and electricity prices are making some industries revert to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/01/germany-puts-coal-power-plant-back-on-network-after-gas-supply-cut">burning coal</a>, our findings show that green hydrogen offers a cheaper alternative to steelmakers. At <a href="https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/coal">recent</a> fossil fuel <a href="https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/energy-data-and-research/data-portal/wholesale-market-indicators">prices</a>, we estimate that direct reduction steelmaking with green hydrogen could be roughly 15% cheaper than the cheapest coal-based option (including carbon capture and storage) over a typical 25-year project lifetime.</p>
<p>Steelmaking with green hydrogen and electric arc furnaces uses <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127665">lots of electricity</a>. So, in a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113100">recent paper</a>, we looked at reducing industrial electricity bills by removing green levies (which raise funds to spur the deployment of renewable technology and support vulnerable customers) and energy network maintenance costs and moving them to general taxation instead. </p>
<p>This would put the UK’s steel industry on an equal footing with France’s and Germany’s. We found that price parity could be achieved by increasing the average income tax bill by around 68p, rising to around £5.50 if UK steel production switched entirely to direct reduction with green hydrogen.</p>
<p>The UK government is <a href="https://gridbeyond.com/government-considers-energy-intensive-industry-exemption-from-green-levy-costs/#:%7E:text=Businesses%20such%20as%20steelmakers%2C%20paper,schemes%2C%20which%20incentivise%20clean%20power">considering</a> exempting industries that consume a lot of energy from paying green levies. But soaring fossil fuel prices have hiked wholesale electricity costs so much that removing them and network maintenance fees will not significantly affect bills. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/sustainable/sites/bartlett/files/uk_industrial_electricity_prices_-_competitiveness_in_a_low_carbon_world.pdf">Instead</a>, steelmakers and other heavy industries could access cheap renewable electricity directly in <a href="https://theconversation.com/renewables-are-cheaper-than-ever-so-why-are-household-energy-bills-only-going-up-174795">a green power pool</a>.</p>
<p>The UK cannot afford to keep coal-based steelmaking in its decarbonisation strategy and must ensure the steel industry is ready to transition to using green hydrogen fuel instead.</p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare Richardson-Barlow is a non-resident fellow at the National Bureau of Asian Research.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Pimm and Pepa Ambrosio-Albala do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Steelmaking with green hydrogen is now a less expensive prospect relative to alternatives.Clare Richardson-Barlow, Research Fellow in Industrial Decarbonisation, University of LeedsAndrew Pimm, Research Fellow in Mechanical Engineering, University of LeedsPepa Ambrosio-Albala, Research Fellow in Chemical Engineering, University of LeedsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1893802022-09-05T01:51:42Z2022-09-05T01:51:42ZPlanning a renovation or new build? Here’s the outlook for skyrocketing steel and timber prices<p>It’s a tough time to build or renovate a house in Australia. Prices are up, well above inflation. Finding materials and getting them on time is a challenge. Builders are grappling with too much work and stress (with some folding as costs rise too fast). Customers are being confronted with eye-watering price quotes.</p>
<p>And as any would-be home builder or renovator knows, the price of timber or steel is crucial. </p>
<p>So what exactly is happening here, and what’s the outlook?</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/homebuilder-might-be-the-most-complex-least-equitable-construction-jobs-program-ever-devised-140162">HomeBuilder might be the most-complex least-equitable construction jobs program ever devised</a>
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</em>
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<h2>Timber: huge demand, not enough supply</h2>
<p>According a 2021 Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) <a href="https://daff.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/1032742/0">report</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>average annual hardwood log availability is forecast to be 1 million cubic metres (9%) lower over 2020-24 than 2015-19 […] softwood sawlog availability is projected to be 10% lower in the period of 2020-24 than was projected in 2015.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The same <a href="https://daff.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/1032742/0">report</a> shows minimal new plantations were established in recent years.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482425/original/file-20220902-23-4yd8b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482425/original/file-20220902-23-4yd8b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/482425/original/file-20220902-23-4yd8b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482425/original/file-20220902-23-4yd8b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482425/original/file-20220902-23-4yd8b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=332&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482425/original/file-20220902-23-4yd8b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482425/original/file-20220902-23-4yd8b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/482425/original/file-20220902-23-4yd8b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New plantation establishment–the majority of Australia’s new plantations since 1998-99 have been hardwood species, with minimal new establishment since 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://daff.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/1032742/0">ABARES</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the 2019-20 bushfires, 130,000 hectares of plantation forest were <a href="https://daff.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/search/asset/1030501/1">burned</a>. Recent floods didn’t help.</p>
<p>Native forest harvesting is also falling; it will be <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/sep/08/western-australia-to-ban-native-forest-logging-from-2024-in-move-that-blindsides-industry">banned</a> in Western Australia by 2024. Victoria will phase out the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/nsw/20m-loss-native-forest-logging-last-year-cost-nsw-taxpayers-441-per-hectare-20220314-p5a4g1.html">industry</a> by 2030.</p>
<p>A timber shortage was expected as early as 2020 but the start of the COVID pandemic – when the housing market momentarily froze – brought some respite, with house construction and timber prices initially going down.</p>
<p>Then came <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/homebuilder">HomeBuilder</a>, which encouraged consumers to proceed with purchases or renovations to reignite the house construction market.</p>
<p>The number of dwelling units commenced <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/industry/building-and-construction/building-activity-australia/latest-release">shot up</a> by more than 60%, from about 41,000 by September 2019 to 67,000 by June 2021.</p>
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<p><iframe id="vpJDl" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/vpJDl/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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<p>The stock of dwellings under construction went from about 180,000 in 2020 to more than 240,000 today.</p>
<hr>
<p><iframe id="X676y" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/X676y/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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<p>If you are building many more houses, you need more construction materials. A mild deficit projected for 2020 has now turned into a black hole.</p>
<p>With less timber available, industry <a href="https://www.timberindustrynews.com/lumber-shortages-australia-threaten-construction-industry/">sees</a> a deficit of at least 250,000 wooden house frames in the next 15 years. Scarcity is the new normal.</p>
<p>The result is a growth in <a href="https://www.ibisworld.com/au/bed/domestic-price-of-timber/5120/">domestic prices</a> as timber processors struggle to meet contract obligations. </p>
<p>Logs cannot be manufactured. They grow, and this takes about 20 years. The only way to go through current shortages is by importing or replacing timber. </p>
<p>Importing timber isn’t cheap. Australia has very low <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40725-021-00156-5">costs</a> to grow and harvest, less than half of major global exporters. Adding to that, international <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-02/maersk-raises-profit-forecast-as-congestions-boost-freight-rates">shipping rates have surged</a> in the past two years. </p>
<p>These act as barriers to imports, which <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/abares/research-topics/forests/forest-economics/forest-wood-products-statistics">fell</a> considerably in the past decade.</p>
<h2>Steel: supply chain woes and war on Ukraine</h2>
<p>Steel is the typical replacement for timber. But builders and renovators will not find good news there either. Steel prices also <a href="https://propertyupdate.com.au/how-much-on-average-does-it-cost-to-build-a-house/">skyrocketed</a> by more than 42% in the year ending March 2022, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.</p>
<p>Troubled supply chains have reduced <a href="https://www.mitre10.com.au/insite/australia-braces-for-lengthy-steel-shortage">supply</a> at a time of unexpectedly high demand, and investment has been scarce in recent years.</p>
<p>When a recovery was on the horizon, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-01/war-means-surging-steel-prices-and-unfinished-infrastructure">war</a> hit shipments of key stock from Ukraine and Russia.</p>
<p>With few players left, home builders in Australia <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/opinion/john-durie-steel-price-rises-tradies-bluescope-monopoly/">assert</a> they’re at the mercy of a de facto monopoly by BlueScope Steel in the light gauge steel framing market.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, BlueScope customers had to <a href="https://www.smartcompany.com.au/business-advice/competition/bluescope-customers-pay-more-for-steel/">contend</a> with a 38% price increase on steel fabrication products.</p>
<p>A 2021 federal government <a href="https://www.globaltradealert.org/intervention/103764/anti-dumping/australia-definitive-anti-dumping-and-countervailing-duties-on-imports-of-certain-aluminium-zinc-coated-steel-600mm-from-the-republic-of-korea-and-vietnam-termination-of-part-of-the-investigation-on-imports-from-chinese-taipei-and-vietnam">decision</a> to impose dumping duties of up to 20.9% on steel imports from Korea and Vietnam did not exactly help bring prices down.</p>
<p>In February 2022, BlueScope <a href="https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/7629367/pandemic-trends-here-to-stay-for-steel-bluescope-ceo/">posted</a> its largest half-year profit ever.</p>
<p>According to its chief executive, Mark Vassella, current trends are here to stay. The company intends to make the most of current market conditions and expand its capacity, with plans to reignite a blast furnace deactivated in 2011.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1553931572268929025"}"></div></p>
<h2>What happens next?</h2>
<p>The price outlook is grim. </p>
<p>Master Builders Queensland chief executive Paul Bidwell reckons material price rises may not yet have <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-27/housing-construction-industry-braces-for-more-uncertainty/101378080?utm_source=abc_news_web&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_web">peaked</a>.</p>
<p>There is no indication timber prices will go down again, as they did in 2020. As for steel, 2013 was the last time there was a significant price reduction.</p>
<p>The Australia Bureau of Statistics (ABS/HIA) <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-08-23/greed-construction-loss-making-boom-sees-builders-collapse/101334170">recorded</a> in June this year an increase of about 40% in prices for reinforced steel, structural timber and steel beams. </p>
<p>Thanks to the housing construction boom, building projects now face <a href="https://sustainableforestmanagement.com.au/australian-timber-shortage/">delays</a>, which further drives up construction <a href="https://www.fwpa.com.au/statistics-count-newsletter/1710-is-steel-growing-its-share-new-report-for-fwpa.html">costs</a>.</p>
<p>Several builders have gone <a href="https://www.afr.com/property/commercial/i-bet-more-builders-go-broke-20220804-p5b79q">broke</a>. Those under a fixed-price contract who factored low material <a href="https://www.fwpa.com.au/news/newsletters/statisticscount-newsletter/2333-structural-timber-prices-up-26-0-in-september-quarter.html">prices</a> into their quotes are now facing the hard truth of working for little or no profit, or even at a loss.</p>
<p>Will construction prices come down? One can only hope – but it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-causing-australias-egg-shortage-a-shift-to-free-range-and-short-winter-days-188433">What's causing Australia's egg shortage? A shift to free-range and short winter days</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/189380/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Flavio Macau is affiliated with the Australasian Supply Chain Institute (ASCI) </span></em></p>If you’re holding off on renovating until next year expecting prices to calm down, odds are you will be disappointed.Flavio Macau, Associate Dean - School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1764522022-03-22T21:12:41Z2022-03-22T21:12:41ZThe economic case for the mining industry to support carbon taxation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/452923/original/file-20220317-23-1fpa886.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C8264%2C3301&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">RioTinto's Kennecott mine in Utah produces a variety of metals, including copper, gold and silver.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/19779889@N00/36571631266">(arbyreed/Flickr)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As governments try to navigate a path to a safe climate in the 21st century, the public debate has focused on net zero, carbon taxes, electrification and renewable energy. Mining is rarely an anchor point of the discussion, even though renewable energy infrastructure and low-carbon technology require vast amounts of metals and minerals. </p>
<p>Nickel, for example, is essential for electric vehicles and battery storage. The amount of nickel required by 2040 for the energy transition alone will be <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions/executive-summary">equal to the total demand for nickel across all industries in 2020, according to the International Energy Agency</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="a graph showing projected demand for copper and nickel increasing over time." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448160/original/file-20220223-25-5f0cjt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448160/original/file-20220223-25-5f0cjt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448160/original/file-20220223-25-5f0cjt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448160/original/file-20220223-25-5f0cjt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448160/original/file-20220223-25-5f0cjt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448160/original/file-20220223-25-5f0cjt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448160/original/file-20220223-25-5f0cjt.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=484&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Projected demand change for copper and nickel requirements for energy transition technology. The solid bars show the amount of metal demand projected for the energy transition, while the transparent bar shows the actual total demand for copper and nickel across all industries in 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Cox et al. 2022)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There is widespread consensus among economists that <a href="https://policyintegrity.org/files/publications/ExpertConsensusReport.pdf">carbon taxation is one of the most effective policies to reduce carbon emissions</a>. Presently, <a href="https://carbonpricingdashboard.worldbank.org/map_data">27 countries have enacted carbon taxation policy at the national level</a>, yet only <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1114898/leading-mining-countries-worldwide-based-mineral-production-value/">seven are leading mining countries</a>, and mining companies and industry organizations oppose carbon taxes in many of these countries. </p>
<p>Addressing climate change requires a coalition between industry and government. The idea that the industry supplying the technology for renewable energy is also opposing the economic policy needed to curb emissions is counter productive. </p>
<p>Simple economic modelling proves that resisting a carbon tax is the wrong strategy for the industry. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00346-4">Our recent paper</a> shows that the mining industry has an economic incentive to support a tax on carbon dioxide emissions. </p>
<h2>Opposed to taxes</h2>
<p>The mining industry has historically opposed taxes, especially carbon taxes. When <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2011A00131">Australia introduced a price on carbon emissions in 2011</a>, the Minerals Council of Australia led a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13567888.2011.640030">multi-million-dollar campaign against the carbon tax policy</a> even though there are <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd1112a/12bd068#_Toc308423383">tax-relief provisions for emissions-intensive industries such as steel and coal</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/17/australia-kills-off-carbon-tax">The Australian carbon tax policy was repealed in 2014</a>, but some mining groups do support carbon taxes. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/aug/04/bhp-could-quit-minerals-council-after-clashes-over-climate-policy">BHP Billiton Ltd. supported carbon pricing in 2017 and distanced itself from the Minerals Council of Australia</a>. </p>
<p>This fractured industry standpoint on carbon pricing is also present in Canada. <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/worlds-largest-miners-pledge-net-zero-carbon-emissions-by-2050-2021-10-05/">Some mining companies have made public commitments to carbon neutrality by 2050</a>, yet there has been opposition from some industry groups at the provincial level. </p>
<h2>Metals out, a little CO2 in</h2>
<p>There are many factors throughout the mining process that contribute to carbon emissions. The commodity being mined heavily influences the amount of emissions and where the emissions are generated throughout the mining process. </p>
<p>For iron and steel most emissions are generated in the later stages during <a href="https://www.ctc-n.org/technologies/smelt-reduction-iron-and-steel-sector">smelting</a>. Mining copper ore, on the other hand, generates most of its emissions in the earlier stages <a href="https://copperalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Emissions-Copper-Mine-of-the-Future-Report.pdf">during the crushing, grinding and hauling of ore</a>.</p>
<p>One way to look at the impacts of carbon taxation in mining is to compare the commodity’s carbon footprint to its economic value. For example, <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/102.100.100/101541?index=1">the average carbon footprint of copper</a> is 3.83 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of copper. </p>
<p>So, for each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted, 261 kilograms of copper worth US$1,700, using 2019 copper prices, are produced. This is a relatively high value. The same cannot be said for other industries, like animal agriculture, where a tonne of carbon emissions corresponds to about US$125 of wholesale beef (using equivalent 2019 pricing). </p>
<h2>How would a carbon tax affect mining?</h2>
<p>The basics of a carbon tax are that more carbon-intensive industries will be taxed more. Our study tested three levels of carbon taxation: US$30, US$70 and US$150 per tonne of carbon dioxide, and compared them against commodity prices in 2019. These levels closely follow <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/climate-change/pricing-pollution-how-it-will-work/carbon-pollution-pricing-federal-benchmark-information/federal-benchmark-2023-2030.html">the Pan-Canadian approach to carbon pollution pricing</a>, which are currently set to $50 per tonne and increase $15 per year to $170 in 2030. </p>
<p>We modelled the impact of a carbon tax on a range of commodities. Our model included all <a href="https://www.epa.gov/climateleadership/scope-1-and-scope-2-inventory-guidance">Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions</a> — direct emissions from the source and indirect emissions associated with heating, cooling or electricity. The production of some commodities is more carbon-intense than others, which affects the impact of the carbon price. </p>
<p>In some cases, the carbon tax can be greater than the product’s value. When the price of carbon is US$150, coal is taxed at 144 per cent of its value. Copper, on the other hand, is taxed at 10 per cent of its value. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448164/original/file-20220223-21387-17vmmj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/448164/original/file-20220223-21387-17vmmj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448164/original/file-20220223-21387-17vmmj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448164/original/file-20220223-21387-17vmmj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=344&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448164/original/file-20220223-21387-17vmmj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448164/original/file-20220223-21387-17vmmj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/448164/original/file-20220223-21387-17vmmj.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=433&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The impact of three levels of carbon taxation (US$30, $70 and $150) modelled as a percentage of present product value for selected commodities. This shows that most mining industry and energy transition commodities will not be taxed to the same degree as other commodities.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Authors)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Two metals are outliers to the industry: aluminum and steel. The mining of the raw materials are not carbon intensive. Bauxite and iron ore generate 0.005 and 0.02 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of product respectively, but smelting these ores into metals emits more carbon in production.</p>
<h2>Mining for carbon taxes</h2>
<p>Outside of aluminum refining and steel mills, the mining industry will perform better with a carbon tax than it would without one. This is because the carbon tax would increase the price of fossil fuels relative to renewable energy and the materials required for renewable energy technology.</p>
<p>For example, the costs of coal used for energy production will more than double, making electricity from coal increasingly uncompetitive. The rising demand for solar and wind power will drive further increases in the consumption of base metals for wind turbines and solar panels. </p>
<p>If implemented on a global scale, a carbon tax would not change the underlying cost of the base metal business, but it does have vast financial benefits for the mining sector. These benefits come from the increased demand for metals from the energy transition, paired with a relatively lighter percentage of global carbon taxes, in comparison to other industries. </p>
<p>Rather than opposing carbon taxes, the mining sector should become a global advocate for aggressive carbon targets, the harmonization of international carbon taxes and pursue further reductions to emissions such as the <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/latest-news-headlines/fintech-company-aims-to-simplify-electrification-of-mining-sector-ceo-says-60076285">electrification of fleets</a> or <a href="https://magazine.cim.org/en/environment/tailings-to-the-rescue-en/">carbon offsets</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/176452/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sally Innis receives funding from NSERC. Some of her research projects are industry partnered with FL Smidth.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Benjamin Cox receives research funding from various sources, including the Canadian Federal Government through the NSERC, and MITACS, industry partners Eriez, FL Smidth.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Steen receives research funding from a variety of sources including the Canadian Federal Government through the NSERC and Supercluster programs, MITACS, Teck, Rio Tinto, EY, Eriez, FL Smidth, and the Project Management Institute.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nadja Kunz receives funding from a variety of sources including government funding agencies (NSERC, SSHRC) and MITACS. Some of her research projects are co-sponsored by industry partners which currently include FLSmidth, Eriez, Resourceful Paths, Vale, Compass Minerals. Nadja also consults for the International Finance Corporation.</span></em></p>Simple economic modelling shows the mining industry would benefit from a carbon tax.Sally Innis, PhD Candidate in Mining Engineering, University of British ColumbiaBenjamin Cox, PhD student, mining engineering, University of British ColumbiaJohn Steen, EY Distinguished Scholar in Global Mining Futures, University of British ColumbiaNadja Kunz, Canada Research Chair and Assistant Professor, Mining, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1710252021-11-04T16:14:58Z2021-11-04T16:14:58ZCOP26: here’s what it would take to end coal power worldwide<p>More than 40 countries have signed an agreement at COP26, the latest UN climate change summit in Glasgow, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/03/more-than-40-countries-agree-to-phase-out-coal-fired-power">to phase out coal</a> in electricity generation. The signatories include some of the world’s biggest coal burners: Canada, Poland, Vietnam, South Korea, Ukraine and Indonesia. The larger of these economies pledge to cease using coal in their power sectors in the 2030s, while the smaller ones promise the same during the following decade.</p>
<p>Aside from generating electricity, coal is used to fuel iron and steel furnaces and cement kilns, and to a lesser extent, household heating systems. The mining and burning of coal still contribute <a href="https://essd.copernicus.org/articles/11/1783/2019/">over 30%</a> of global greenhouse gas emissions, so rapidly phasing it out and replacing it with clean alternatives is a priority for international action on climate change.</p>
<p>Coal supplied <a href="https://theconversation.com/britains-electricity-since-2010-wind-surges-to-second-place-coal-collapses-and-fossil-fuel-use-nearly-halves-129346">41% of the UK’s electricity</a> in 2012, but just <a href="https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories/2020-greenest-year-record-britain">1.6% in 2020</a>. Much of the shortfall left by coal has been met by natural gas – another fossil fuel.</p>
<p>Swapping old coal plants for new gas power stations designed to operate well into the 2050s <a href="https://carbontracker.org/reports/put-gas-on-standby/">isn’t a solution</a> to the problem, even if gas is a less carbon-intensive fuel than coal. There is no sensible alternative to replacing coal with renewable sources like solar and wind – with battery storage to fill gaps in supply – as quickly as possible. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A coal-fired power station belching steam and smoke." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430253/original/file-20211104-25-1dbws4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430253/original/file-20211104-25-1dbws4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430253/original/file-20211104-25-1dbws4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430253/original/file-20211104-25-1dbws4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=394&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430253/original/file-20211104-25-1dbws4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430253/original/file-20211104-25-1dbws4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430253/original/file-20211104-25-1dbws4a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=495&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Coal is still a major source of electricity in many countries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/open-pit-mine-power-plant-hdr-288123713">Fotorince/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite progress on renewables, coal-fired power generation is rising again in the wake of the pandemic, both in <a href="https://energypost.eu/germany-2021-coal-generation-is-rising-but-the-switch-to-gas-should-continue/">Germany</a> and the <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/18/business/coal-power-climate-crisis/index.html">US</a>. Meanwhile, China’s government has mandated an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-coal-prices-dive-11-beijing-plans-intervene-ease-power-crunch-2021-10-22/">expansion in coal production</a> to address its power supply crisis.</p>
<p>Most of the largest coal consumers – Australia, China, the US, India and South Africa – have not joined the Glasgow coal phase-out agreement. China’s recent ban on new financing for overseas coal power is <a href="https://globalenergymonitor.org/press-release/1953/">expected to axe 44 plants</a> worldwide, but China’s domestic coal power stations continue to multiply. For the first time in 2020, China became host to over half of the world’s coal power capacity. It still has 100 gigawatts (GW) of coal power under construction, and another 160GW <a href="https://globalenergymonitor.org/press-release/1953">in the planning stages</a>.</p>
<p>Why is coal such a stubborn relic of energy systems around the world – even where cleaner alternatives like solar power are cheaper? And what can be done about it?</p>
<h2>Breaking the political might of coal</h2>
<p>Coal is <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac1b58#fnref-erlac1b58bib63">still seen</a> as a cheap, abundant and reliable source of electricity. In many of the countries in which it looms largest, such as China, India, South Africa and Indonesia, state-owned companies tend to dominate the power and mining sectors. These powerful interests deep within government offer some of the staunchest opposition to phasing out coal.</p>
<p>It’s often assumed that rapidly eliminating coal mining and burning will inevitably mean impoverishing particular countries and regions where the coal industry is a major employer, not to mention lost tax revenues used to fund a range of public services. Given that most coal plants in the developing world are relatively new, retiring them early also risks heavy financial losses for their owners. </p>
<p>The idea of a just transition (though subject to debate) in the coal power sector would involve supporting miners and other workers to retrain and use their expertise to contribute to new or established low-carbon sectors, including renewable energy. Industrial strategies that follow this path could avoid some of the worst deprivation which has <a href="https://theconversation.com/ending-coal-use-blighted-scottish-communities-a-just-transition-to-a-green-economy-must-support-workers-170003">blighted coal communities</a> in former heartlands in the UK.</p>
<p>There are no insurmountable technical barriers to replacing coal in power generation either. It’s already underway in countries like the US, where a power utility recently <a href="http://technologymagazine.org/xcel-energy-replace-coal-solar-power/">struck a deal</a> with its largest retail customer to retire some of its coal plants early and replace them with solar power. </p>
<p>Replacing coal in steelmaking and cement plants is more difficult, but also possible. Steel furnaces can be powered by electricity, and green hydrogen fuel is already being trialled by multinational cement firms in Europe and steel producers in <a href="https://www.globalcement.com/magazine/articles/1189-the-multiple-benefits-of-green-hydrogen-for-the-decarbonisation-of-cement-production">Germany</a> and <a href="https://newatlas.com/energy/h2gs-green-hydrogen-steel/">Sweden</a>. While green hydrogen remains significantly more expensive than coal or gas, further investment in the technology needed to produce it – plus the continued decline in the cost of green electricity supplying it – may make it as cheap as fossil fuels sooner than expected.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A vat of molten metal pouring onto a surface in a steelworks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430252/original/file-20211104-21-124wf6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/430252/original/file-20211104-21-124wf6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430252/original/file-20211104-21-124wf6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430252/original/file-20211104-21-124wf6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430252/original/file-20211104-21-124wf6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430252/original/file-20211104-21-124wf6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/430252/original/file-20211104-21-124wf6u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The alternatives to coal in steelmaking are less advanced than in power generation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/steelworker-work-pouring-metal-workshop-1735685552">Joli L/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>For large economies which are heavily dependent on coal power, particularly China, the most serious barriers to eliminating this fossil fuel are political. Countries with experience in phasing out coal, such as the UK, must work closely with China, Indonesia, India and others to find pathways for replacing coal power with renewables that are economically and technologically viable. Designing social policies that lighten the burden on communities dependent on coal for livelihoods can help overcome resistance to change. </p>
<p>Coal-dependent states must also allocate hefty sums of additional investment to not just expand clean energy generation, which will eventually pay for itself through lower energy bills and public health benefits, but also to limit the financial damage from retiring existing coal mines and plants. The Asian Development Bank’s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/adb-sets-plan-retire-coal-fired-power-plants-philippines-indonesia-2021-11-03/">new US$2.5 billion fund</a>, which is intended to buy up and close coal plants in Indonesia and the Philippines, presents one way of doing this. But using public money to bail out private companies which have continued to plough money into coal despite the risks is arguably unjust and may prove politically infeasible if attempted on a large scale. </p>
<p>There is still a bright future beyond coal, but countries should be prepared to forego short-term and short-sighted gains in order to get there.</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="COP26: the world's biggest climate talks" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/424739/original/file-20211005-17-cgrf2z.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong>This story is part of The Conversation’s coverage on COP26, the Glasgow climate conference, by experts from around the world.</strong>
<br><em>Amid a rising tide of climate news and stories, The Conversation is here to clear the air and make sure you get information you can trust. <a href="https://page.theconversation.com/cop26-glasgow-2021-climate-change-summit/"><strong>More.</strong></a></em> </p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/171025/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alex Clark receives funding from the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). He is currently a fellow at the Global China Initiative, Boston University, and the European Council on Foreign Relations.</span></em></p>Coal is the dirtiest fuel source – eliminating it is a priority for tackling climate change.Alex Clark, DPhil Candidate in Energy and Economics, University of OxfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1602822021-06-02T06:01:40Z2021-06-02T06:01:40Z‘Green steel’ is hailed as the next big thing in Australian industry. Here’s what the hype is all about<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403934/original/file-20210602-354-17kb9tf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C12%2C4055%2C2770&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Steel is a major building block of our modern world, used to make everything from cutlery to bridges and wind turbines. But the way it’s made – using coal – is making climate change worse.</p>
<p>On average, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/10/9/1117">almost two tonnes</a> of carbon dioxide (CO₂) are emitted for every tonne of steel produced. This <a href="https://ourworldindata.org/emissions-by-sector">accounts for about 7%</a> of global greenhouse gas emissions. Cleaning up steel production is clearly key to Earth’s low-carbon future.</p>
<p>Fortunately, a new path is emerging. So-called “green steel”, made using hydrogen rather than coal, represents a huge opportunity for Australia. It would boost our exports, help offset inevitable job losses in the fossil fuel industry and go a long way to tackling climate change.</p>
<p>Australia’s abundant and cheap wind and solar resources mean we’re well placed to produce the hydrogen a green steel industry needs. So let’s take a look at how green steel is made, and the challenges ahead.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Steel workers at plant" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403937/original/file-20210602-27-etu2ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403937/original/file-20210602-27-etu2ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403937/original/file-20210602-27-etu2ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403937/original/file-20210602-27-etu2ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403937/original/file-20210602-27-etu2ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403937/original/file-20210602-27-etu2ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403937/original/file-20210602-27-etu2ot.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A green steel industry would give Australia a slice of the low-emissions manufacturing boom.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Munoz/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Steeling for change</h2>
<p>Steel-making requires stripping oxygen from iron ore to produce pure iron metal. In traditional steel-making, this is done using coal or natural gas in a process that releases CO₂. In green steel production, hydrogen made from renewable energy replaces fossil fuels. </p>
<p>Australia exports almost <a href="https://minerals.org.au/minerals/ironore">900 million tonnes</a> of iron ore each year, but only makes <a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/steel-by-topic/statistics/World-Steel-in-Figures.html">5.5 million tonnes</a> of steel. This means we have great capacity to ramp up steel production. </p>
<p>A Grattan Institute report <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/green-steel-is-no-longer-a-fantasy/">last year found</a> if Australia captured about 6.5% of the global steel market, this could generate about A$65 billion in annual export revenue and create 25,000 manufacturing jobs in Queensland and New South Wales.</p>
<p>Steel-making is a complex process and is primarily achieved via one of three processes. Each of them, in theory, can be adapted to produce green steel. We examine each process below.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-is-in-the-box-seat-to-power-the-world-126341">Australia is in the box seat to power the world</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Roll of red-hot steel" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403936/original/file-20210602-3305-11mhtev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403936/original/file-20210602-3305-11mhtev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403936/original/file-20210602-3305-11mhtev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403936/original/file-20210602-3305-11mhtev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403936/original/file-20210602-3305-11mhtev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403936/original/file-20210602-3305-11mhtev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403936/original/file-20210602-3305-11mhtev.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Steel-making is a complex process.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>1. Blast furnace</h2>
<p>Globally, <a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/steel-by-topic/statistics/steel-statistical-yearbook.html">about 70%</a> of steel is produced using the blast furnace method. </p>
<p>As part of this process, processed coal (also known as coke) is used in the main body of the furnace. It acts as a physical support structure for materials entering and leaving the furnace, among other functions. It’s also partially burnt at the bottom of the furnace to both produce heat and make carbon monoxide, which strips oxygen from iron ore leaving metallic iron. </p>
<p>This coal-driven process leads to CO₂ emissions. It’s <a href="https://www.thyssenkrupp.com/en/stories/sustainability-and-climate-protection/green-steel-review-of-phase-1-of-the-injection-trials">feasible</a> to replace a portion of the carbon monoxide with hydrogen. The hydrogen can strip oxygen away from the ore, generating water instead of CO₂. This requires renewable electricity to produce green hydrogen.</p>
<p>And hydrogen cannot replace carbon monoxide at a ratio of 1:1. If hydrogen is used, the blast furnace needs more externally added heat to keep the temperature high, compared with the coal method.</p>
<p>More importantly, solid coal in the main body of the furnace cannot be replaced with hydrogen. Some <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2018.04.021">alternatives</a> have been developed, involving biomass – a fuel developed from living organisms – blended with coal. </p>
<p>But sourcing biomass sustainably and at scale would be <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2018.03.001">a challenge</a>. And this process would still likely create some fossil-fuel derived emissions. So to ensure the process is “green”, these emissions would have to be captured and stored – a technology which is <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/what-is-carbon-capture-and-storage/">currently</a> expensive and unproven at scale.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australians-want-industry-and-theyd-like-it-green-steel-is-the-place-to-start-137999">Australians want industry, and they'd like it green. Steel is the place to start</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Smoke billows from steel plant" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403940/original/file-20210602-27-tks2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403940/original/file-20210602-27-tks2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403940/original/file-20210602-27-tks2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403940/original/file-20210602-27-tks2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403940/original/file-20210602-27-tks2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403940/original/file-20210602-27-tks2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403940/original/file-20210602-27-tks2n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Producing steel using the blast furnace method produces substantial emissions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>2. Recycled steel</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/steel-by-topic/statistics/steel-statistical-yearbook.html">Around 30%</a> of the world’s steel is made from recycled steel. Steel has one of the highest recycling rates of any material.</p>
<p>Steel recycling is mainly done in arc furnaces, driven by electricity. Each tonne of steel produced using this method produces about <a href="https://www.bhp.com/media-and-insights/prospects/2020/11/pathways-to-decarbonisation-episode-two-steelmaking-technology/">0.4 tonnes of CO₂</a> – mostly due to emissions produced by burning fossil fuels for electricity generation. If the electricity was produced from renewable sources, the CO₂ output would be greatly reduced.</p>
<p>But steel cannot continuously be recycled. After a while, unwanted elements such as copper, nickel and tin begin to accumulate in the steel, reducing its quality. Also, steel has a long lifetime and low turnover rate. This means recycled steel cannot meet all steel demand, and some new steel must be produced.</p>
<h2>3. Direct reduced iron</h2>
<p>“Direct reduced iron” (DRI) technology often uses methane gas to produce hydrogen and carbon monoxide, which are then used to turn iron ore into iron. This method still creates CO₂ emissions, and requires more electricity than the blast furnace method. However its overall emission intensity can be <a href="https://www.bhp.com/media-and-insights/prospects/2020/11/pathways-to-decarbonisation-episode-two-steelmaking-technology/">substantially lower</a>.</p>
<p>The method currently accounts for <a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/en/dam/jcr:f7982217-cfde-4fdc-8ba0-795ed807f513/World%2520Steel%2520in%2520Figures%25202020i.pdf">less than 5%</a> of production, and offers the greatest opportunity for using green hydrogen. </p>
<p>Up to 70% of the hydrogen derived from methane could be replaced with green hydrogen <a href="https://www.midrex.com/wp-content/uploads/Midrex-DFM-1stQtr2021-Final.pdf">without having to modify</a> the production process too much. However work on using 100% green hydrogen in this method is <a href="https://www.midrex.com/technology/midrex-process/midrex-h2/">ongoing</a>.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-hydrogen-to-be-truly-clean-it-must-be-made-with-renewables-not-coal-128053">For hydrogen to be truly 'clean' it must be made with renewables, not coal</a>
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<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="workers walk past rolls of finished steel" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403938/original/file-20210602-25-1qa6pzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/403938/original/file-20210602-25-1qa6pzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403938/original/file-20210602-25-1qa6pzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403938/original/file-20210602-25-1qa6pzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403938/original/file-20210602-25-1qa6pzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403938/original/file-20210602-25-1qa6pzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/403938/original/file-20210602-25-1qa6pzj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">New steel must be produced because not enough steel is available for recycling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dean Lewins/AAP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Becoming a green steel superpower</h2>
<p>The green steel transition won’t happen overnight and significant challenges remain.</p>
<p>Cheap, large-scale green hydrogen and renewable electricity will be required. And even if green hydrogen is used, to achieve net-zero emissions the blast furnace method will still require carbon-capture and storage technologies – and so too will DRI, for the time being.</p>
<p>Private sector investment <a href="https://grattan.edu.au/news/green-steel-is-no-longer-a-fantasy/">is needed</a> to create a global-scale export industry. Australian governments also have a big role to play, in building skills and capability, helping workers retrain, funding research and coordinating land-use planning.</p>
<p>Revolutionising Australia’s steel industry is a daunting task. But if we play our cards right, Australia can be a major player in the green manufacturing revolution.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/160282/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Honeyands receives funding from BHP. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jessica Allen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s abundant wind and solar resources mean we’re well placed to produce the hydrogen a green steel industry needs. But there are technical and economic challenges ahead.Jessica Allen, Senior Lecturer and DECRA Fellow, University of NewcastleTom Honeyands, Director, Centre for Ironmaking Materials Research, University of NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1595062021-05-26T19:41:03Z2021-05-26T19:41:03ZBiden’s budget includes a jump in climate spending – here’s why investing in innovation is crucial<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402761/original/file-20210526-13-1vm87b5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=39%2C59%2C3248%2C2129&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Electric vehicles and renewable energy will only get the country so far.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/Biden/2585a94b39dc49628861fc442172bbfc/photo">AP Photos/Evan Vucci</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>President Joe Biden is calling for a more than 60% increase in spending to fight climate change in his first <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/">federal budget</a> compared to the previous annual budget, with more than $US36 billion in climate-related investments spread across nearly every agency of the government.</p>
<p>That includes more than $10 billion in nondefense spending on clean energy innovation, among other investments in research and development.</p>
<p>How much of this proposal Congress agrees to fund <a href="https://itif.org/publications/2021/05/17/energizing-innovation-raising-ambition-federal-energy-rdd-fiscal-year-2022">will be important</a> to the nation’s and the world’s ability to lower emissions. Biden’s <a href="https://www.state.gov/leaders-summit-on-climate/">vision of a cleaner future</a> – with greenhouse gas emissions falling to net-zero by 2050 – <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/share-of-emissions-reductions-in-2050-by-maturity-category-and-scenario">won’t be possible</a> without dramatically improved technology, and that requires investing in innovation.</p>
<p>Right now, for example, there are no technologies ready to be deployed on a global scale to eliminate emissions from many essential agricultural and industrial activities. Three examples are animal agriculture, cement production and steel production, which together account for over a quarter of all global emissions.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman works with a blow torch and glass tube" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402759/original/file-20210526-13-p0decy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402759/original/file-20210526-13-p0decy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402759/original/file-20210526-13-p0decy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402759/original/file-20210526-13-p0decy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402759/original/file-20210526-13-p0decy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402759/original/file-20210526-13-p0decy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402759/original/file-20210526-13-p0decy.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At the National Renewable Energy Lab, Annalise Maughan makes components for research and development of solid-state batteries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.nrel.gov/MX/Profiles/en/default/#/main/single/bfa33bcb-9a72-470d-91dc-5e07acf64c82">Dennis Schroeder/NREL</a></span>
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<p><a href="https://schar.gmu.edu/profiles/dhart">My research career</a> has been devoted to innovation policy, and I served on the White House staff under President Barack Obama. I’ve seen how smart public policies and savvy federal investments can help accelerate the innovation process.</p>
<h2>Progress, but yawning gaps</h2>
<p>There’s no question that the world is making progress on clean energy. <a href="https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-energy-and-levelized-cost-of-storage-2020/">Wind and solar power costs have fallen dramatically</a>, allowing them to displace coal and natural gas in many locations to provide much cleaner electricity. Electric vehicles are <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-road-to-electric-vehicles-with-lower-sticker-prices-than-gas-cars-battery-costs-explained-137196">becoming mainstream</a> as well.</p>
<p>But as promising as these technologies are, they will still leave the world far short of net-zero emissions, even if they continue to develop rapidly.</p>
<p>The International Energy Agency, whose members include the world’s largest economies, developed a model to show how the world can <a href="https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/share-of-emissions-reductions-in-2050-by-maturity-category-and-scenario">get to net-zero emissions by 2050</a> while ensuring a basic standard of living for all people. The model incorporates more than 400 technologies and rates them by their current readiness level. </p>
<p>It found that almost half the emissions reductions between now and 2050 would come from technologies that are either still in the prototype phase or just being demonstrated. Another 40% would come from technologies that have recently entered the market and have not necessarily reached full cost parity with conventional resources. Most other energy and climate system modelers reach similar conclusions.</p>
<p><iframe id="Gzw5R" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Gzw5R/6/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Innovation is particularly essential for the <a href="https://itif.org/events/2018/11/28/innovation-agenda-low-carbon-energy-future-bridging-gaps-federal-energy-rdd">hard-to-decarbonize sectors</a>. For example:</p>
<p><a href="https://e360.yale.edu/digest/the-cement-industry-one-of-the-worlds-largest-co2-emitters-pledges-to-cut-greenhouse-gases">Cement</a>, the world’s most widely used material, causes about 8% of global emissions. It is typically produced in kilns that are fired to very high temperatures with natural gas. It also undergoes a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide. Emerging solutions include <a href="https://www.heidelbergcement.com/en/pr-15-12-2020">capturing the carbon</a> during production, <a href="https://cen.acs.org/materials/inorganic-chemistry/Alternative-materials-shrink-concretes-giant/98/i45">shifting</a> to low-carbon materials and <a href="https://biomason.com/technology/">inventing</a> new processes altogether. But none of these options is ready yet to scale up to meet the challenge of dramatically reducing emissions at a reasonable cost.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel">Steel</a>, which produces 7% of global emissions, has similar challenges and solutions, with particular emphasis on using hydrogen in the production process. In Sweden, for instance, the <a href="https://www.iea.org/commentaries/aligning-investment-and-innovation-in-heavy-industries-to-accelerate-the-transition-to-net-zero-emissions">HYBRIT</a> (Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology) demonstration plant will use hydrogen produced through electrolysis, which splits water into hydrogen and oxygen to avoid emissions. It’s still expensive, though. Production <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/46d4727c-761d-43ee-8084-ee46edba491a">costs have been estimated</a> to be 20%-30% higher than conventional methods.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/sites/4/2021/02/08_Chapter-5_3.pdf">Animal agriculture</a> is the source of 12% or more of global emissions. Livestock and manure emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Fossil fuels and fertilizers are also used to grow feed crops, and forests may be destroyed to accommodate grazing. These challenges require a different set of solutions, which might include new practices for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978012812766700007X">managing soil</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-solutions/2020/11/27/climate-solutions-seaweed-methane/">changing livestock feed</a> and <a href="https://gfi.org/science/the-science-of-cultivated-meat/">inventing substitutes for conventional meat</a>, along with reducing meat consumption.</p>
<p><a href="https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions-from-aviation">Aviation</a> – responsible for 2% of global emissions – requires high-powered engines to provide thrust over a short period of time. That energy demand is hard to meet with batteries compared to fuel combustion, especially for long-haul flights. While some entrepreneurs are pursuing <a href="https://qz.com/1943592/electric-airplanes-are-getting-close-to-a-commercial-breakthrough">electric planes</a>, other possibilities for emissions-free flights could include <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/aviation">making liquid fuels from biological sources</a> or from hydrogen and captured carbon.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.imo.org/en/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-ships.aspx">Maritime shipping</a>, currently 2% of emissions, may also switch to <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/international-shipping">sustainable liquid fuels</a> or hydrogen-powered <a href="https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/hydrogen-fuel-cells-for-ocean-going-ships-and-inland-waterways">fuel cells</a> to drive electric motors. <a href="https://epub.wupperinst.org/frontdoor/deliver/index/docId/6656/file/6656_Decarbonization.pdf">Port operations</a>, which rely on heavy trucks and equipment for moving freight, will require similar solutions.</p>
<p><iframe id="T3e2P" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/T3e2P/9/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Putting it all together</h2>
<p>The argument for innovation is not an argument against deployment of climate solutions that already work. Deployment spurs innovation. That’s how wind and solar became cheaper, and why electric vehicles are likely to follow suit as more of them get on the road.</p>
<p>But <a href="https://itif.org/publications/2020/09/15/energizing-america-roadmap-launch-national-energy-innovation-mission">evidence shows that targeted policies will be essential</a> to accelerate innovation in sectors that now lack them. </p>
<p>Companies will rarely try to solve climate challenges with their own money because the payoff is too distant and uncertain. Government regulation and charging companies a fee if they emit greenhouse gases may help close part of the innovation gap, but it is not a substitute for public investments in innovation.</p>
<p>Fuel taxes provide an analogy. They have for decades been much higher in Europe than in the United States. As a result, European car dealers offered smaller and more efficient cars than did their American counterparts. But until very recently, no European carmaker offered electric vehicles. It took focused policies, like Norway’s large government incentives, as well as the startup Tesla’s ingenuity – which was aided by U.S. federal and state policies – for the EV market to take off.</p>
<p><iframe id="cMjQT" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/cMjQT/4/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Things are looking up</h2>
<p>Heeding the evidence, the Biden administration has <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/FY2022-Discretionary-Request.pdf">promised</a> to quadruple clean energy research in four years, and its infrastructure proposal includes numerous large-scale energy and climate technology demonstration projects.</p>
<p>At the recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-us-climate-pledge-cut-emissions-50-this-decade-but-can-biden-make-it-happen-158869">global leaders’ summit on climate change</a>, Biden also announced a revival of <a href="http://mission-innovation.net/2021/">Mission Innovation</a>, a global initiative set up in parallel with the Paris climate agreement to spark public and private investment.</p>
<p>Although climate policy is highly polarized in the United States, innovation receives <a href="https://www.climatechangecommunication.org/all/climate-change-in-the-american-mind-december-2020/">widespread support</a>. Large majorities from both parties endorse it in public opinion polls. So do organizations ranging from <a href="https://www.dataforprogress.org/climate/jumpstarting-a-decade-of-progressive-climate-innovation">Green New Deal advocates</a> to the tax- and regulation-averse <a href="https://www.uschamber.com/energy">U.S. Chamber of Commerce</a>.</p>
<p>Innovation can be a slow, complex process, as the decades-long story of renewable energy development shows. It’s now <a href="https://www.usa.gov/budget">up to Congress</a> to pass a budget that will move climate innovation faster. The <a href="https://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment">increasing impact of rising temperatures</a> shows there is no time to waste.</p>
<p><em>This article was updated May 28, 2021, with the budget release.</em> </p>
<p>[<em>Understand new developments in science, health and technology, each week.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/science-editors-picks-71/?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=science-understand">Subscribe to The Conversation’s science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David M. Hart is affiliated with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, where he runs the clean energy innovation policy project. This project has received funding from the Spitzer Trust, Breakthrough Energy, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and numerous individual donors. </span></em></p>To cut enough greenhouse gas emissions, the world will need technologies that are still being developed, particularly for industries that are tough to clean up, like cement, steel and shipping.David M. Hart, Professor of Public Policy, George Mason UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1547682021-03-23T14:32:13Z2021-03-23T14:32:13ZSteel is vital to the green transition – here’s how to scrub out the industry’s emissions<p>Coal generated less than 2% of Britain’s electricity <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britain-down-to-its-last-coal-power-station-rkvxftjg6">in 2020</a>, despite being the largest single energy source seven years earlier. While the country’s electricity gets cleaner every year, there’s one sector where this carbon-rich fossil fuel remains difficult to replace: steelmaking.</p>
<p>If approved, Woodhouse Colliery in Cumbria would be the first deep coal mine to open in the UK for 30 years, and it would produce 2.7 million tonnes of coking coal annually for the steel industry. </p>
<p>Steel has a high strength-to-weight ratio and is relatively cheap to produce – qualities that make the material invaluable in construction and the car industry. As a major component of wind turbines, steel will be a big part of the transition to green energy too. </p>
<p>That’s partially why the global demand for steel is forecast to increase by <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadmap">more than a third by 2050</a>. This could be bad news for the planet, though, as steel manufacturing already accounts for <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadmap">7% of CO₂ emissions worldwide</a> and <a href="https://committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/14920/pdf/">2.7% of UK emissions</a>.</p>
<p>The world needs to find a way to make lots of steel while reducing the industry’s carbon footprint. And <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/The-Sixth-Carbon-Budget-The-UKs-path-to-Net-Zero.pdf">the government’s independent Climate Change Committee</a> has recommended that steelmaking in the UK should reach near zero carbon emissions by 2035. So what’s the best route to a low-carbon steel industry?</p>
<h2>How to make steel</h2>
<p>To produce steel, iron ore is mined, processed and then alloyed with carbon and other elements. Coking coal, a form of coal with a high carbon content, plays three different roles in this process. It can help turn iron ore into iron, process iron into steel, and it’s also a fuel that can help power these processes.</p>
<p>In an integrated steelworks, coking coal is heated to around 1,100°C to produce a pure form of carbon called coke. Coke reduces the ore to iron in a blast furnace by reacting with oxygen to make carbon monoxide. One molecule of iron ore reacts with three molecules of carbon monoxide, leaving two iron atoms and three molecules of carbon dioxide. The greenhouse gas is then released into the atmosphere as waste. </p>
<p>Finally, iron is converted to steel by altering its carbon content in a basic oxygen furnace. Globally, 90% of the steel produced from iron ore is <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadmap">manufactured using this process</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A hand holding clumps of black coke." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391151/original/file-20210323-18-161uq8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391151/original/file-20210323-18-161uq8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391151/original/file-20210323-18-161uq8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391151/original/file-20210323-18-161uq8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391151/original/file-20210323-18-161uq8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391151/original/file-20210323-18-161uq8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391151/original/file-20210323-18-161uq8m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some coke (not the drink).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/coke-hand-58342231">Kilukilu/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A carbon-neutral steel industry could substitute coal in each step of this process. But at the moment, coal remains the most cost-effective option in most cases.</p>
<h2>What are the alternatives?</h2>
<p>However, integrated steelworks aren’t the only place steel is produced – 630 million tonnes of steel scrap is <a href="https://www.bir.org/publications/facts-figures/download/643/175/36?method=view">recycled each year</a>, saving lots of energy and 950 million tonnes of CO₂, which is more than the annual emissions of the EU’s entire transportation sector. Recycling mainly takes place in an electric arc furnace, where electricity is used to melt and process scrap metal.</p>
<p>But this depends on vast quantities of scrap steel, and a 2015 study found that 85% of stainless steel is already <a href="https://www.recycling-magazine.com/2020/10/01/new-study-shows-life-cycle-of-stainless-steels/">recycled after its first use</a>. There’s little room to increase the percentage of scrap in new steel in Europe, so manufacturing steel from iron ore will still be necessary in the future.</p>
<p>Direct reduction of iron ore to form iron is another process that uses less energy than a blast furnace. <a href="http://www.iipinetwork.org/wp-content/Ietd/content/direct-reduced-iron.html">Natural gas</a> is the fossil fuel of choice for 90% of plants using this method, concentrated in the Middle East and North America where gas prices are low. In 2018, only <a href="https://www.midrex.com/wp-content/uploads/Midrex_STATSbookprint_2018Final-1.pdf">100.5 million tonnes</a> of steel were produced this way – just <a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/media-centre/press-releases/2019/Global-crude-steel-output-increases-by-4.6--in-2018.html">5.6%</a> of the total.</p>
<p>Directly reducing iron ore using hydrogen generated by clean electricity – otherwise known as green hydrogen – and then processing that in an electric arc furnace also powered by green electricity, is one method for producing <a href="https://www.midrex.com/technology/midrex-process/midrex-h2/">low-carbon steel</a>. Continuing to use coal in integrated steelworks, but capturing and either <a href="https://corporate.arcelormittal.com/media/case-studies/capturing-and-utilising-waste-carbon-from-steelmaking">using</a> or storing the CO₂ emitted, is another.</p>
<p><a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-21209-4_10">Direct electrolysis</a>, where iron ore is turned directly into steel using electricity, also has potential, but it’s a long way from being commercially viable. With time running short, the surest route to the 2035 deadline for decarbonisation is to use the direct reduction method with hydrogen in electric arc furnaces, or use coal in integrated steelworks with carbon capture and storage. Globally, both are likely to <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadmap">play a role</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Inside the steelworks, sparks fly from the white heat of a furnace." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391150/original/file-20210323-14-rsmokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/391150/original/file-20210323-14-rsmokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391150/original/file-20210323-14-rsmokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391150/original/file-20210323-14-rsmokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391150/original/file-20210323-14-rsmokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391150/original/file-20210323-14-rsmokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/391150/original/file-20210323-14-rsmokx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Electric arc furnaces can be used to decarbonise the steelmaking process.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/working-electroarc-furnace-metallurgical-plant-workshop-1129551926">Oleksiy Mark/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the UK, 95% of emissions from steelmaking come from just <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-decarbonisation-strategy">two sites</a>. It’s here the country’s path to a decarbonised steel sector will be decided. The recently published <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-decarbonisation-strategy">industrial decarbonisation strategy</a> doesn’t specify what technologies must be used, and so doesn’t exclude the continued use of coking coal so long as the carbon emissions can be captured and used or stored. </p>
<p>Carbon capture is already a competitive option for decarbonising industrial processes such as <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/transforming-industry-through-ccus">ammonia production</a>. But CO₂ mixes with other gases in steelworks emissions, making the capture process <a href="https://c4u-project.eu/the-project/">more difficult</a>. </p>
<p>Globally, it’s likely that coal will continue to be used for making steel in the 2030s and beyond, due to the lifespan of existing plants and the immaturity of low-carbon alternatives. Fortunately, coal use in steel manufacturing by 2050 would still be compatible with <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/iron-and-steel-technology-roadmap">the Paris Agreement</a>, as long as emissions were 40% of today’s levels and about a third of those were captured. Hydrogen and electrification would do the rest of the work.</p>
<p>Coal use in steelmaking does not need to cease immediately, but guaranteeing that the future of steelmaking will be low-carbon requires action now. Continued coal use must be met with radical improvements in carbon capture and storage technology – it’s here the industry needs to show it can keep up.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/154768/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Carr receives funding from ERDF, as part of the Reducing Industrial Carbon Emissions (RICE) project. He also receives funding from the Innovate UK IDCF Roadmap and Deployment projects. He is a member of the Energy Institute.</span></em></p>Low-carbon alternatives for steelmaking are numerous – but which will be ready in time?Stephen Carr, Lecturer in Energy Physics, University of South WalesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1451662020-09-01T19:58:40Z2020-09-01T19:58:40ZRenewable energy can save the natural world – but if we’re not careful, it will also hurt it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355710/original/file-20200901-18-rxpx93.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5238%2C3500&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A vast transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is crucial to slowing climate change. But building solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable energy infrastructure requires <a href="https://www.resourcepanel.org/reports/green-energy-choices-benefits-risks-and-trade-offs-low-carbon-technologies-electricity">mining for materials</a>. If not done responsibly, this may damage species and ecosystems.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17928-5">our research</a>, published today, we mapped the world’s potential mining areas and assessed how they overlap with biodiversity conservation sites. </p>
<p>We found renewable energy production will exacerbate the threat mining poses to biodiversity – the world’s variety of animals and plants. It’s fair to assume that in some places, the extraction of renewables minerals may cause more damage to nature than the climate change it averts.</p>
<p>Australia is well placed to become a leader in mining of renewable energy materials and drive the push to a low-carbon world. But we must act now to protect our biodiversity from being harmed in the process.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A wind farm" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355711/original/file-20200901-18-1bcz015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355711/original/file-20200901-18-1bcz015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355711/original/file-20200901-18-1bcz015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355711/original/file-20200901-18-1bcz015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355711/original/file-20200901-18-1bcz015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355711/original/file-20200901-18-1bcz015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355711/original/file-20200901-18-1bcz015.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Renewable energy infrastructure such as wind farms are good for the planet – but it requires minerals extraction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mining to prevent climate change</h2>
<p>Currently, <a href="http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/207371500386458722/pdf/117581-WP-P159838-PUBLIC-ClimateSmartMiningJuly.pdf">about 17%</a> of current global energy consumption is achieved through renewable energy. To further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this proportion must rapidly increase. </p>
<p>Building new renewable energy infrastructure will involve mining minerals and metals. Some of these include:</p>
<ul>
<li>lithium, graphite and cobalt (mostly used in battery storage)</li>
<li>zinc and titanium (used mostly for wind and geothermal energy)</li>
<li>copper, nickle and aluminium (used in a range of renewable energy technologies).</li>
</ul>
<p>The World Bank <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/extractiveindustries/brief/climate-smart-mining-minerals-for-climate-action">estimates</a> the production of such materials could increase by 500% by 2050. It says more than 3 billion tonnes of minerals and metals will be needed to build the wind, solar and geothermal power, and energy storage, needed to keep global warming below 2°C this century.</p>
<p>However, mining can seriously damage species and places. It <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2018.1926">destroys natural habitat</a>, and <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-00557-w">surrounding environments</a> can be harmed by the construction of transport infrastructure such as roads and railways. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An evaporation pond used to measure lithium and in the Uyuni salt desert in Bolivia." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355698/original/file-20200901-16-1f31kdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355698/original/file-20200901-16-1f31kdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355698/original/file-20200901-16-1f31kdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355698/original/file-20200901-16-1f31kdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355698/original/file-20200901-16-1f31kdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355698/original/file-20200901-16-1f31kdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355698/original/file-20200901-16-1f31kdv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An evaporation pond used to measure lithium and in the Uyuni salt desert in Bolivia. Mining can damage the environment if not done sustainably.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dado Galdieri/AP</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What we found</h2>
<p>We mapped areas around the world potentially affected by mining. Our analysis involved 62,381 pre-operational, operational, and closed mines targeting 40 different materials.</p>
<p>We found mining may influence about 50 million km² of Earth’s land surface (or 37%, excluding Antarctica). Some 82% of these areas contain materials needed for renewable energy production. Of this, 12% overlaps with protected areas, 7% with “<a href="http://www.keybiodiversityareas.org/home">key biodiversity areas</a>”, and 14% with remaining <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07183-6">wilderness</a>.</p>
<p>Our results suggest mining of renewable energy materials may increase in currently untouched and “biodiverse” places. These areas are considered <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nclimate2918">critical</a> to helping species overcome the challenges of climate change. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355924/original/file-20200902-16-1mntn0l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Areas around the world potentially influenced by mining" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355924/original/file-20200902-16-1mntn0l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355924/original/file-20200902-16-1mntn0l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355924/original/file-20200902-16-1mntn0l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355924/original/file-20200902-16-1mntn0l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=317&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355924/original/file-20200902-16-1mntn0l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355924/original/file-20200902-16-1mntn0l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355924/original/file-20200902-16-1mntn0l.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Areas potentially influenced by mining, including for the minerals needed in renewable energy production (shown in blue). See paper for detailed methodology and limitations.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Threats here and abroad</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/about/projects/resources/critical-minerals">Australia is well positioned</a> to become a leading supplier of materials for renewable energy. We are also <a href="https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/ecologically-megadiverse-countries-of-the-world.html">one of only 17 nations</a> considered ecologically “megadiverse”.</p>
<p>Yet, many of the minerals needed for renewable energy exist in important conservation areas.</p>
<p>For example, Australia is rich in lithium and already accounts for <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/minerals/mineral-resources-and-advice/australian-resource-reviews/lithium#heading-6">half of world production</a>. <a href="http://www.pilbaraminerals.com.au/site/content/">Hard-rock</a> lithium mines operate in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.</p>
<p>This area has also been <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/conservation/hotspots/national-biodiversity-hotspots#hotspot14">identified</a> as a national biodiversity hotspot and is home to many native species. These include small marsupials such as the little red antechinus and the pebble-mound mouse, and reptiles including gecko and goanna species. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/world-first-mining-standard-must-protect-people-and-hold-powerful-companies-to-account-144285">World-first mining standard must protect people and hold powerful companies to account</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Australia is also <a href="https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/minerals/mineral-resources-and-advice/australian-resource-reviews/rare-earth-elements#heading-6">ranked sixth</a> in the world for deposits of rare earth elements, many of which are needed to produce magnets for wind turbines. We also have large resources of other renewables materials such as cobalt, manganese, tantalum, tungsten and zirconium. </p>
<p>It’s critical that mining doesn’t damage Australia’s already vulnerable biodiversity, and harm the natural places valued by <a href="https://theconversation.com/rio-tinto-just-blasted-away-an-ancient-aboriginal-site-heres-why-that-was-allowed-139466">Indigenous</a> people and other communities.</p>
<p>In many cases, renewables minerals are found in countries where the resource sector is not strongly regulated, posing an even greater environmental threat. For example, the world’s <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-12-03/bolivia-s-almost-impossible-lithium-dream">second-largest</a> untouched lithium reserve exists in Bolivia’s Salar de Uyuni salt pan. This naturally diverse area is mostly <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1755-263X.2011.00166.x">untouched</a> by mining. </p>
<p>The renewables expansion will also require iron and steel. To date, mining for iron in Brazil has almost wiped out an entire <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-007-9156-8">plant community</a>, and recent <a href="https://theconversation.com/dam-collapse-at-brazilian-mine-exposes-grave-safety-problems-110666">dam failures</a> devastated the environment and communities.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A little red antechinus" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355700/original/file-20200901-22-17nnyi7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/355700/original/file-20200901-22-17nnyi7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355700/original/file-20200901-22-17nnyi7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355700/original/file-20200901-22-17nnyi7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355700/original/file-20200901-22-17nnyi7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355700/original/file-20200901-22-17nnyi7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/355700/original/file-20200901-22-17nnyi7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=522&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Pilbara has large lithium deposits and is also home to the little red antechinus.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Needpix</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>We need proactive planning</h2>
<p>Strong planning and conservation action is needed to avoid, manage and prevent the harm mining causes to the environment. However global conservation efforts are often naive to the threats posed by significant growth in renewable energies. </p>
<p>Some protected areas around the world prevent mining, but more than 14% contain metal mines in or near their boundaries. Consequences for biodiversity may extend many kilometres from mining sites.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, other areas increasingly important for conservation are focused on the needs of biodiversity, and don’t consider the distribution of mineral resources and pressures to extract them. Conservation plans for these sites must involve strategies to manage the mining threat.</p>
<p>There is some good news. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17928-5">Our analyses</a> suggest many required materials occur outside protected areas and other conservation priorities. The challenge now is to identify which species are most at risk from current and future mining development, and develop strong policies to avoid their loss. </p>
<p><em>The map in this article has been updated, because due to a technical issue the previous version omitted some information.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145166/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Sonter receives funding from the Australian Research Council and The University of Queensland. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Watson receives funding from National Environmental Science Program, the Australian Research Council and The University of Queensland. He is Director of the Science and Research Initiative at the Wildlife Conservation Society and serves as a volunteer on Bush Heritage Australia and BirdLife Australia science committees. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Richard K Valenta receives funding from the Queensland State Government, The Northern Territory Government and the University of Queensland. He is chair of the research working group of the Queensland Exploration Council.</span></em></p>Building renewable energy infrastructure involves mining for materials such as lithium, graphite and cobalt. If not done responsibly, that could cause huge environmental damage.Laura Sonter, Lecturer in Environmental Management, The University of QueenslandJames Watson, Professor, The University of QueenslandRichard K Valenta, Director - WH Bryan Mining and Geology Research Centre - The Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1265992020-02-26T19:01:16Z2020-02-26T19:01:16ZAlbanese says we can’t replace steelmaking coal. But we already have green alternatives<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/317246/original/file-20200226-24659-17ugi73.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5302%2C3558&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Despite a wealth of evidence to the contrary, some still propagate the myth that the world will need Australian coal for decades to come. Last weekend Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-23/labor-backs-2050-global-carbon-emissions-targets/11991912">joined in</a>, saying thermal and metallurgical coal mining and exports would continue after 2050, even with a <a href="https://theconversation.com/albanese-pledges-labor-government-would-have-2050-carbon-neutral-target-132205">net zero emissions target</a>.</p>
<p>Metallurgical coal (or “coking coal”) is mined to produce the carbon used in steelmaking, while thermal coal is used to make steam that generates electricity. </p>
<p>Albanese argues there’s no replacement for metallurgical coal, but this is not the case. The assertion stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of modern steelmaking, and places Australian manufacturers at risk of missing out on massive opportunities in the global shift to a low-carbon economy.</p>
<p>Just as thermal coal can be replaced with clean energy from renewables, we can use low-emissions steel manufacturing to phase out metallurgical coal.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/labors-climate-policy-is-too-little-too-late-we-must-run-faster-to-win-the-race-132263">Labor’s climate policy is too little, too late. We must run faster to win the race</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The problem with steel</h2>
<p>Steel is the second-most polluting industrial material in the world after cement, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/30/steel-sector-to-suffer-losses-rising-carbon-prices-climate-regulation.html">causing 7-9% of global emissions</a>. </p>
<p>Australia manufactures a relatively small amount of steel – <a href="https://www.steel.org.au/about-us/our-industry/">5.3 million tonnes,</a> or 0.3% of world output. Yet, we’re one of the biggest exporters of raw materials for steel production.</p>
<p>There is potential to not only strengthen Australia’s steel manufacturing industry, but also to grow it using the ore (rock containing metals like iron) we currently export and our extensive renewable energy sources. </p>
<p>Doing so would work to our manufacturing strengths, history, abundant resources, and would cater to the future low-carbon market that will still require steel.</p>
<p>There are a few ways we can do this. </p>
<h2>Recovering waste</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/en/dam/jcr:ab8be93e-1d2f-4215-9143-4eba6808bf03/20190207_steelFacts.pdf">Seventy-two per cent</a> of the world’s virgin steel (steel made from ore, not from recycled material) is created from a high emissions manufacturing process – via the integrated steel-making route. This involves a blast furnace and a basic oxygen furnace, using coal, coke, iron ore and gas. </p>
<p>We can replace the coal and coke with rubber tyres that would otherwise end up in landfill, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/jan/21/the-woman-who-loves-garbage-veena-sahajwalla-on-making-the-best-of-waste">as shown by</a> University of NSW’s Professor Veena Sahajwalla, who dubbed this process “green steel”.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stemming-the-tide-of-trash-5-essential-reads-on-recycling-113306">Stemming the tide of trash: 5 essential reads on recycling</a>
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</em>
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<p>Right now we can also boost the recovery of steel from landfills in greater percentages. According to a <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/7381c1de-31d0-429b-912c-91a6dbc83af7/files/national-waste-report-2018.pdf">2018 national waste report</a>, Australia generated an estimated 67 million tonnes of waste in 2016-17. </p>
<p>Steel makes up 2.5% of this. That’s more than 1.5 million tonnes, enough to build 150,000 buses.</p>
<h2>‘Direct reduction’ from renewable hydrogen</h2>
<p>But the best way to reduce emissions in steel manufacturing is to shift to “direct reduction”. This process produces more than <a href="https://www.energy-transition-hub.org/files/resource/attachment/zero_emissions_metals.pdf">60 million tonnes</a> of primary steel each year.</p>
<p>And almost 50 plants around Australia already make steel this way. It results in <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-more-jobs-in-australia-cut-our-ore-exports-and-make-more-metals-at-home-124592">40% lower greenhouse gas emissions</a>, while supporting a viable and thriving manufacturing industry, which uses our own raw materials rather than exporting them. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/enough-ambition-and-hydrogen-could-get-australia-to-200-renewable-energy-127117">Enough ambition (and hydrogen) could get Australia to 200% renewable energy</a>
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</em>
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<hr>
<p>Here’s how it works. Direct reduction removes the oxygen in ore, which produces metallic iron. The chemical reaction that drives this process uses carbon monoxide and hydrogen, sourced from greenhouse gases – reformed natural gas, syngas or coal. </p>
<p>But there’s no reason these fossil fuels can’t be entirely replaced with renewable <a href="https://theconversation.com/enough-ambition-and-hydrogen-could-get-australia-to-200-renewable-energy-127117">hydrogen</a> in the near future. </p>
<p><img src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/static_files/files/788/Sc01.gif?1574379470" width="100%"></p>
<p>We’ve seen this from two leading direct-reduction technologies, called <a href="https://www.midrex.com/">Midrex</a> and <a href="https://www.energiron.com/">Energiron</a>. Both use fossil fuels, but also with a high proportion of hydrogen. In fact, Energiron facilities can already use up to 70% hydrogen, and they’ve also trialled 100% hydrogen. </p>
<p>The source of this hydrogen is critical, it can be made from fossil fuels, or <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-hydrogen-to-be-truly-clean-it-must-be-made-with-renewables-not-coal-128053">it can be made using renewable energy</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/for-hydrogen-to-be-truly-clean-it-must-be-made-with-renewables-not-coal-128053">For hydrogen to be truly 'clean' it must be made with renewables, not coal</a>
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</em>
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<p>At least five companies in Europe are also working on producing low emissions steel. What’s more, three companies (SSAB, LKAB and Vattenfall) are collaborating to progress the technology, creating the “world’s first fossil-free steel-making technology, with virtually no carbon footprint” – called the “<a href="http://www.hybritdevelopment.com/">HYBRIT system</a>”. </p>
<p>In fact, SSAB recently announced they’re bringing their plans forward to will produce <a href="https://reneweconomy.com.au/nordic-steel-giant-to-use-renewable-hydrogen-to-produce-fossil-free-steel-by-2026-2026/">fossil-free steel by 2026</a>. </p>
<h2>A new Aussie industry</h2>
<p>The key message is this: it is possible to create low-emissions steel, without metallurgical coal. And it is already happening. </p>
<p>With the support of industry and government, non-metallurgical, low-emissions steel could provide an opportunity to create jobs, develop a decarbonised industry and extend the steel market’s contribution to Australia’s economy. </p>
<p>Not to mention what products we can produce from the steel – adding value in many more ways than just exporting ore – and taking advantage of an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jul/01/carbon-trust-research-footprint-consumer-demand">increasing consumer demand for low carbon products</a>. This is especially relevant for <a href="https://bze.org.au/research/regional/collie/">communities</a> transitioning away from fossil fuels. </p>
<p>There’s not much stopping low-emissions steel from forming a core new Australian industry. Australia must address the costs involved in transitioning the infrastructure, to upgrade plants and processes. </p>
<p>But it needs to start with working from facts – and effective government support and vision. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-hydrogen-power-can-help-us-cut-emissions-boost-exports-and-even-drive-further-between-refills-101967">How hydrogen power can help us cut emissions, boost exports, and even drive further between refills</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/126599/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dominique Hes is affiliated with Beyond Zero Emissions. </span></em></p>Just as thermal coal can be replaced with clean energy from renewables, we can use low-emissions steel manufacturing to phase out metallurgical coal.Dominique Hes, Senior Lecturer in Sustainable Architecture, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1256132019-10-24T16:54:48Z2019-10-24T16:54:48ZThe ‘circularity paradox’ in the European steel industry<p>Recycling, remanufacturing and refurbishing are indisputably important tools for reducing our consumption of natural resources. These activities contribute to what scientists call circularity: <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/publications/growth-within-a-circular-economy-vision-for-a-competitive-europe">making sure we use materials for as long as possible</a>, over and over, so that we exploit nature less and less. </p>
<p>Doing so requires creating what are called “secondary markets”, where used materials are gathered up, reworked and injected back into the economy. While this is an essential part of creating circularity, there can sometimes be unintended and negative consequences. A striking example is the secondary metals market: it has <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es303149z">been a success</a>), creating <a href="https://www.green-alliance.org.uk/unemployment_and_the_circular_economy_in_Europe.php">new jobs and business opportunities</a>), but the environmentally friendly goal that it once had is no longer a priority.</p>
<p>In Europe, we recycle more than <a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/steel-by-topic/raw-materials.html">70% of used steel on average</a>, and just over 30% of all recycled or remanufactured steel is produced in furnaces that use <a href="https://bir.org/publications/brochures/">electricity rather than burning coal</a>. Not bad, but no longer enough when considering the <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/246397/estimated-demand-for-steel-worldwide-by-region/">increasing steel demand from developing nations</a>, which are growing rapidly.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298354/original/file-20191023-119405-1nzyyz2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298354/original/file-20191023-119405-1nzyyz2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298354/original/file-20191023-119405-1nzyyz2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298354/original/file-20191023-119405-1nzyyz2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298354/original/file-20191023-119405-1nzyyz2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298354/original/file-20191023-119405-1nzyyz2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298354/original/file-20191023-119405-1nzyyz2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298354/original/file-20191023-119405-1nzyyz2.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Examples of growing and mature apparent steel consumption levels as function of GDP.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ernst&Young</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although iron itself is an element that is infinitely recyclable, steel is a combination of iron and other elements such as carbon, nickel, chromium or manganese. Different compositions alter the mechanical properties of steel for use in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/John-Bringas/dp/0803133626">different applications</a>, but that complicates recycling. So even if iron itself does not necessarily downcycle, steel alloys can: after multiple recycling and remanufacturing cycles, unless the proportions of the elements that make up an alloy are adjusted, it might no longer have the same characteristics as the original steel or, more likely, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jiec.12439">no longer be as useful or valuable when compared to newer alloys</a>.</p>
<p>Recycling and remanufacturing steel do help <a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/publications/bookshop/product-details%7ESteel--%20-the-permanent-material-in-the-circular-economy%7EPRODUCT%7ESteel-permanent-circular-economy%7E.html">reduce the need for natural resources</a>). Unfortunately, though, much of the metal recovered from our cars, phones and refrigerators, as well as from tools and machinery, is more likely to end up as steel scrap available for sale than actually going back to their own supply chains. Such scrap can end up being bought for recycling or remanufacturing by either completely different steelmakers from those who originally produced it or by those <a href="https://www.euric-aisbl.eu/facts-figures/statistics/download/231/63/32">outside of European borders</a>.</p>
<h2>How the circular becomes linear</h2>
<p>Because an increasing amount of <a href="https://bir.org/publications/brochures/">steel scrap is leaving Europe</a>, its composition receives less attention – the goal is to supply developing nations as quickly as possible with alloys that are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344912002078">less complex and more bulk-oriented</a>. Not all steel needs to go back to its origin for circularity to take place and be useful, but the less attention we give to how steel circulates, the less environmental benefits we accrue from the secondary metals market. </p>
<p>Together, these developments have effectively created a circularity paradox: the solution we thought would increase circularity has became another linear operation of its own. By using linear solutions to approach circular goals, we are not actually changing the mindset of standard industrial operations. Instead, we are just pushing it further down the line. Consequently, the benefits of using recycling, refurbishing and remanufacturing to close loops in supply chains and reduce the need for mining iron ore are no longer as evident as we had hoped. Worse, all the effort put into making all those complex and high-added-value steel alloys ends up either downcycling or leaving Europe altogether.</p>
<p>But what if we kept better track of steel? During the development of the <a href="https://adaptecon.com/">AdaptEcon2</a> project <a href="http://www.theses.fr/en/2019CLFAD002">“Sustainable Resource Management in European Steel Supply Chains”</a>, we found out that the more integrated supply chains are, the easier it is to track the lifecycle of steel alloys and the elements that go into them. Higher levels of integration make it easier to bring steel back via reverse logistics without losing too much value. The more you do this, the less iron ore you need to mine and melt, and the longer the reserves of high-grade iron ore – which needs less energy to transform into steel – will last. And integrating supply chains does not necessarily mean having the <a href="https://environmentalsystemsresearch.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40068-019-0144-2">different steps all within the same company</a>.</p>
<h2>Using steel steel more intelligently</h2>
<p>What happens on the manufacturing and consumption ends is also important. During our study, we were also able to reinforce the notion that steel’s share of emissions during its use phase can be reduced by:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/855">Focusing on public transportation</a> rather than using the same amount of steel to produce cars.</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/855">Using steel in solar-energy infrastructure</a> rather than the same amount as part of a hydropower plants, for example.</p></li>
<li><p>Manufacturing appliances with energy-efficient steel, which use the same amount of iron but different alloying elements, so <a href="http://www.materialflows.eu/assets/Material_Flows_of_the_HA_Industry_LR.pdf">less electricity is required to operate them</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>What if we could stimulate the use of more renewable sources of electricity to help supply those steelmakers using electric furnaces? Although steelmaking is <a href="https://www.oecd.org/sti/ind/Energy-efficiency-steel-sector-1.pdf">highly energy intensive</a>, the more renewables are a part of supplying that energy, the lower will be the emissions footprint of both the steel being produced as well as of the renewable energy hardware that contains this steel. While a complete shift to renewables is unlikely for this sector, this would create a <a href="https://environmentalsystemsresearch.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40068-019-0144-2">reinforcing feedback loop that favors both sectors in the long-term</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298353/original/file-20191023-119414-1xkwflm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298353/original/file-20191023-119414-1xkwflm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298353/original/file-20191023-119414-1xkwflm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298353/original/file-20191023-119414-1xkwflm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298353/original/file-20191023-119414-1xkwflm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=205&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298353/original/file-20191023-119414-1xkwflm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298353/original/file-20191023-119414-1xkwflm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298353/original/file-20191023-119414-1xkwflm.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=258&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">European steel today (a) and vision for 2050 (b).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">EUROFER</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>By far the most interesting result of the project was that added value, circularity and service life are much more closely related than we had expected. In other words, the more a steelmaker adds value to a steel alloy, the better it is for the steelmaker not only to make sure it comes back home at the end of its life, but also that this steel alloy can remain circulating over and over for as long as possible. And the key to making it happen resides in resource ownership.</p>
<p>On the good side, Europe has been putting a lot of effort on <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/implementation_report.pdf">promoting circularity</a>, especially in the <a href="https://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/sustainable_products_circular_economy.pdf">end-of-life phase of products</a>). And finding a balance between bulk and speciality alloys is something that the steel industry already does very well for their own competitive interests. But when it comes to service life of manufactured goods, we still live in the age of programmed and planned obsolescence. And although end-of-life circularity helps mitigate some of the effects of these intentionally shortened service lives, the core issue remains unanswered: how to make materials circulate for longer?</p>
<h2>Thinking strategically</h2>
<p>What is required is to show steelmakers that there’s a lot of value that they can retain by focusing on resource ownership. We need to help ensure that steel comes back to the supply chain in which it was produced, so that we can accrue value from the same steel product, over and over.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298352/original/file-20191023-119438-1hn0xul.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298352/original/file-20191023-119438-1hn0xul.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298352/original/file-20191023-119438-1hn0xul.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298352/original/file-20191023-119438-1hn0xul.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298352/original/file-20191023-119438-1hn0xul.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=478&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298352/original/file-20191023-119438-1hn0xul.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298352/original/file-20191023-119438-1hn0xul.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298352/original/file-20191023-119438-1hn0xul.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=601&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The steel supply chain as seen by the Circular Economy Framework.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ellen McArthur Foundation</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Thankfully, the technologies and applications of Industry 4.0 are already out there. Tools such as RFIDs, GPS tagging, QR codes, the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning are becoming commonplace in manufacturing and assembly. There is also a lot that we can learn from the service sector when it comes to business models that benefit from different ownership modes. So why not give more attention to the extraction and transformation steps using these tools? To address the service life and resource ownership issue that could help us improve circularity, we need to take two important steps: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Develop markers capable of withstanding the whole life cycle of a steel product, repeatedly.</p></li>
<li><p>Create a business model capable of keeping track and managing the comings and goings of these materials and goods, borrowing ideas from servitisation.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>The key is to show stakeholders that it is worthwhile to develop alloys that last longer because no matter how far it travels, it will always come home. Home where their composition is known and where the machinery is suited to adjust its alloying characteristics so it remains useful and competitive for longer. Home, where it can be fed back into the supply chain that is already prepared to receive it and work with it once again. Home where the costs are lower.</p>
<p>Despite European efforts in end-of-life circularity, we believe more needs to be done upstream, right where most of the environmental impacts are born. Bringing the responsibility of circularity back to extraction and transformation might not only be cost-effective, but actually make materials circularity-ready from the very moment they leave nature, combating the paradox that brought us back to the linear mindset.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125613/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The author has received funding from the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Programme via a Marie Curie Fellowship on Excellent Research (grant agreement 675153). He is a member of the International Society for Industrial Ecology and a Board Member of the Jean Monnet Excellence Center on Sustainable Development.</span></em></p>Europe recycles 70% of its steel, but much is exported, turning what should be a circular process into a linear one. Instead, materials need to be circularity-ready the moment they’re manufactured.Julian Torres de Miranda Pinto, Research Engineer in Sustainable Resource Management, Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1171592019-05-15T20:52:08Z2019-05-15T20:52:08ZIs Trump’s trade war saving American jobs – or killing them?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/274728/original/file-20190515-60567-14cvxlp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Trump administration says its trade policy saved the U.S. steel industry.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Pence/41ff064a9ae147d2bd54a94856edfade/7/0">AP Photo/Jim Mone</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With the U.S.-China trade war <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/13/us/politics/us-china-trade-tariffs.html">intensifying</a>, there is a lot of talk about whether tariffs save American jobs – as President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/us/politics/trump-tariffs-american-factories.html">claims</a> – or <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2018/09/24/tariffs-are-costing-jobs-a-look-at-how-many/#6e6f2e3d7b26">destroy them</a>. </p>
<p>On May 14, for example, Trump said his tariffs <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/443523-trump-credits-tariffs-for-rebuilding-us-steel-industry">helped save</a> the U.S. steel industry. Whether or not that’s true, many economists and industry organizations argue trade protectionism is actually hurting workers in a range of other areas, such as the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesellsmoor/2019/02/24/under-trumps-tariffs-the-us-lost-20000-solar-energy-jobs/">solar power sector</a>, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/13/boeing-shares-fall-on-speculation-that-china-may-single-it-out-in-the-trade-war.html">civil aircraft</a> and <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/mark-phelan/2019/02/18/tariffs-trump-steel-aluminum-nada/2885080002/">auto manufacturing</a>.</p>
<p>So is the trade war making Americans better off or worse? Political economists <a href="https://sgpp.arizona.edu/user/jeff-kucik">like me</a> have been exploring this question since Trump’s trade war began about a year ago. The answer makes a big difference to the economic welfare of American workers. And, with the 2020 elections soon approaching, it may help determine whether Trump is able to remain in the Oval Office.</p>
<h2>The winners</h2>
<p>At first glance, the jobs data does look good for Trump’s argument. </p>
<p>Since Trump <a href="https://piie.com/blogs/trade-investment-policy-watch/trump-trade-war-china-date-guide">announced tariffs</a> on more than 1,000 Chinese products on April 3, 2018, about <a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/ces0000000001?output_view=net_1mth">2.6 million new jobs</a> have been added to the U.S. economy.</p>
<p>This includes <a href="https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CES3000000001">204,000 jobs in manufacturing</a>, the sector of the economy that hemorrhaged over 5 million positions from 2000 to 2009, a problem blamed on <a href="https://ourfuture.org/20150309/how-our-trade-policies-kill-jobs">free trade</a> and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2016/04/18/474393701/china-killed-1-million-u-s-jobs-but-don-t-blame-trade-deals">China</a>.</p>
<p>The good news for Trump doesn’t stop there. Some of the biggest gainers over the last year are industries like fabricated metals, machinery and electronic instruments, all of which saw gains of 15,000 to almost 30,000 jobs over the past year. All those industries enjoy at least some protection from Trump’s tariffs.</p>
<p>Those numbers seem to support Trump’s rhetoric that tariffs are providing a vital shot in the arm of America’s ailing manufacturing sector. And they may even show why the U.S. economy continues to hum despite <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/us-china-trade-war-recession-economy-bank-america-1421994">economist fears</a> that a trade war would <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/15/latest-data-show-surprise-slowing-in-us-china-economies-as-trade-war-escalates.html">hurt growth</a>. </p>
<h2>The losers</h2>
<p>Unfortunately, not all industries are enjoying the same success. </p>
<p>Of the 20 major manufacturing categories in the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ces/">latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data</a>, only six have grown faster during the trade war – which arguably began with the threat of widespread tariff increases in April of 2018 – than in previous years. The rest, which include chemicals, paper and textiles, either didn’t enjoy a boost or lost ground during the period. </p>
<p>And here is one lesson from the trade war. If Trump and his supporters want to claim that tariffs helped accelerate job creation in machinery and metals, then it follows that his policies should share some of the blame for the less encouraging performance of other sectors hurt by <a href="https://www.cmtradelaw.com/category/china-retaliatory-tariffs/">retaliation from other countries</a>.</p>
<p>After Trump extended steel tariffs to the European Union, the <a href="http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2018/may/tradoc_156909.pdf">EU</a> hit America’s textiles industry. <a href="https://www.fin.gc.ca/access/tt-it/cacsap-cmpcaa-1-eng.asp">Canada</a> targeted some paper products in retaliation for tariffs on steel and <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/4293847/tariffs-lumber-pricing-americans-out-of-housing-market-trump/">softwood lumber</a>. And China, Trump’s primary antagonist, <a href="https://www.crowell.com/files/20180803-China-301-Retaliation-List-25-Percent-Tariffs-Unofficial.pdf">hit chemicals</a> along with a large swath of other industries – with <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-48253002">further retaliation</a> on the way. </p>
<h2>Beyond jobs</h2>
<p>Nonetheless, the simple fact remains: The U.S. economy continues to add more jobs.</p>
<p>But this is only one part of the equation for how tariffs are affecting working Americans and their quality of life. What about wages, which <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/wages-and-salaries-for-private-industry-workers-increase-2-point-6-percent-over-the-year-ended-june-2016.htm">account for 70%</a> of an employee’s average compensation?</p>
<p>There’s less good news for Trump in this data. </p>
<p>The annual growth in seasonally adjusted hourly pay during the trade war averages out to <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES0500000003">around 3.2%</a> across all private sector U.S. employees.</p>
<p>There are two important things to say about that 3.2%. First, it falls short of pre-Great Recession levels, when wage growth was typically <a href="https://www.frbatlanta.org/chcs/wage-growth-tracker.aspx">a full point higher</a>. Second, wage growth in manufacturing – the sector Trump has lavished the most attention on – actually <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-trump-manufacturing-wage-growth-lags-20190411-story.html">lags behind</a> the national average at just 2.3%.</p>
<p>Those wage numbers are good reason to hold our applause for Trump’s tariffs. Protected industries are adding jobs, but wages aren’t living up to expectations.</p>
<h2>Looking for good news</h2>
<p>The competing job numbers explain why the debate over Trump’s tariffs are full of confusing anecdotes – and why most anyone can find “good news” to support their favorite argument.</p>
<p>Americans have heard United Steel Workers <a href="https://www.apnews.com/05b90ea409da42ab9534ce40ed9ffa48">thank Trump</a> for helping bring <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/12/business/us-steel-mill/index.html">over 1,000 jobs</a> back to Birmingham, Alabama. They’ve also heard General Motors announce that it <a href="https://hillreporter.com/general-motors-is-preparing-to-lose-a-massive-1-billion-over-trumps-tariffs-4416">lost US$1 billion</a> in 2018, partly because tariffs contributed to rising production costs, and that as many as <a href="https://reason.com/2018/11/26/after-losing-1-billion-to-tariffs-genera/">14,000 jobs are being cut</a>.</p>
<p>A fuller picture of how well workers are doing requires looking beyond the jobs numbers at how much money they’re actually taking home – and how it’s affecting their living standards. </p>
<p>And none of this says anything about another crucial part of the equation: consumer prices. If the latest data from Goldman Sachs is on the money, things are about to get a whole lot worse for working-class Americans as the price tags attached to products affected by the trade war <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/05/13/this-chart-from-goldman-sachs-shows-tariffs-are-raising-prices-for-consumers-and-it-could-get-worse.html">begin to rocket upward</a>. </p>
<p>This is hardly good news for the average household.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117159/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jeffrey Kucik does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trump claims the tariffs he’s imposed on imports from China and elsewhere are saving US industries and jobs. The data offers a murkier picture.Jeffrey Kucik, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of ArizonaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1162432019-05-03T14:57:31Z2019-05-03T14:57:31ZCurious Kids: why is spider silk so easy to break when it’s supposedly stronger than steel?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272497/original/file-20190503-103049-wqai3n.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C108%2C4256%2C2714&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Web of flies. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beautiful-cobweb-dew-on-winter-morning-1291611304">Shutterstock.</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/165749/original/image-20170419-32713-1kyojyz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=472&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782">Curious Kids</a> is a series by <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk">The Conversation</a>, which gives children of all ages the chance to have their questions about the world answered by experts. All questions are welcome: you or an adult can send them – along with your name, age and town or city where you live – to curiouskids@theconversation.com. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we’ll do our best.</em></p>
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<p><em><strong>How is spider silk so easy to break when it’s stronger than steel? - George, aged ten, Hethersett, UK.</strong></em></p>
<p>Thanks for the question, George – the simple answer is that spider silk breaks easily because it’s really, really, <em>really</em> thin. A thread in the web of a garden spider is <a href="https://www.earthlife.net/chelicerata/silk.html">just 0.003 millimetres across</a> – that’s more than 20 times thinner than a hair from your head. </p>
<p>But there are a few more matters we need to untangle, to see how strong spider silk is, compared with steel. </p>
<p>Steel is a material called an <a href="https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/z8db7p3/revision/2">alloy</a>, which means it is a mixture of metals. The main metal in steel is iron. Other metals are added to the iron, depending on what you want the steel to do. </p>
<p>For example, knives and forks are made from stainless steel that doesn’t rust. To make this you’d mix iron and chromium. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272494/original/file-20190503-103082-1nct2ud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272494/original/file-20190503-103082-1nct2ud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272494/original/file-20190503-103082-1nct2ud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272494/original/file-20190503-103082-1nct2ud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=379&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272494/original/file-20190503-103082-1nct2ud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272494/original/file-20190503-103082-1nct2ud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272494/original/file-20190503-103082-1nct2ud.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=476&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Sydney harbour bridge is made from steel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulcarmona/15805655240/sizes/l">SydneyLens/Flickr.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But maybe you want a steel that is really strong so you could make buildings and cranes from it. Then, you would need to mix iron with a load of different metals including titanium and vanadium. </p>
<p>But there are even stronger steels. Your bike might be built with something called maraging steel and it’s made with iron, nickel, cobalt, molybdenum, titanium and aluminium.</p>
<h2>Spiders’ different silks</h2>
<p>Silk is a very different material from steel. It is actually <a href="https://www.educationquizzes.com/gcse/biology/unit-2-proteins/">protein</a> – the same stuff that your hair and finger nails are made from. </p>
<p>We use steel for different jobs and spiders use silk for all sorts of things as well. And the just like our steel, spiders need different silks for the different jobs. </p>
<p>Let’s look at the <a href="http://britishspiders.org.uk/wiki2015/index.php?title=Araneus_diadematus">common European garden spider</a>: this lovely creature spins the beautiful round webs, using two types of silk. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272498/original/file-20190503-103057-l88nd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272498/original/file-20190503-103057-l88nd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272498/original/file-20190503-103057-l88nd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272498/original/file-20190503-103057-l88nd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272498/original/file-20190503-103057-l88nd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272498/original/file-20190503-103057-l88nd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272498/original/file-20190503-103057-l88nd7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sweet little thing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rstehn/29946508346/sizes/l">Rüdiger Stehn/Flickr.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>The spokes of the web are made from dragline silk. This is strong and slightly stretchy, which means it’s good for making the main supports for the web. </p>
<p>The rest of the web is made from flag silk, which is less strong but very elastic, so it is really good at absorbing the shock when a great big fly smashes into the web. </p>
<p>But the champion constructor of the spider world is the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/story/20151126-the-worlds-biggest-spider-web-can-span-an-entire-river">Darwin bark spider</a>. It produces huge webs, about the size of a kitchen table. </p>
<p>These are sometimes hung from trees with silk threads that stretch right across rivers. To make sure these webs stay in place, the spider uses super strong threads of silk. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272493/original/file-20190503-103071-as9kq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/272493/original/file-20190503-103071-as9kq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272493/original/file-20190503-103071-as9kq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272493/original/file-20190503-103071-as9kq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=422&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272493/original/file-20190503-103071-as9kq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272493/original/file-20190503-103071-as9kq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/272493/original/file-20190503-103071-as9kq4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=530&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A Darwin bark spider’s web stretches across a river.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plik:Caerostris_darwini_web.png">Ingi Agnarsson, Matjaž Kuntner, Todd A. Blackledge/Wikimedia Commons.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>Now, I’ve done some calculations, based on what scientists know about the strength of these different materials, to compare steels with spider silks and see just how strong they are. </p>
<h2>The winning web</h2>
<p>Imagine we had a thread of each material, that was about one millimetre thick – that’s roughly the width of a pin head. Who could hang from them before they broke?</p>
<p>The weakest is the flag line silk: a ten-year-old girl could probably swing from a thread of this, but nothing much heavier. </p>
<p>Next comes the high strength steel which would just about be OK if a chimpanzee hung from it. </p>
<p>The dragline silk would support a small adult – like <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-spider-man-eat-for-breakfast-36857">Spiderman</a>. </p>
<p>The Darwin bark spider silk is next, it would break if anything much bigger than a panda tried to climb it. </p>
<p>And finally, a gorilla would be fine dangling from a one millimetre-thick thread of maraging steel. </p>
<p>Which means that some the strongest steel is actually tougher than the champion spider silks. That is a shame, but all is not lost for the spiders: remember, some of their silks are still stronger than some steels. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>More <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/curious-kids-36782?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=CuriousKidsUK">Curious Kids</a> articles, written by academic experts:</em></p>
<ul>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-how-do-babies-learn-to-talk-111613?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=CuriousKidsUK">How do babies learn to talk? – Ella, aged nine, Melbourne, Australia.</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-do-pets-have-dark-eyes-while-humans-have-mostly-white-eyes-115391?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=CuriousKidsUK">Our guinea pigs have dark eyes. Why do we have white eyes? - Rhoswen, aged three, Bristol, UK.</a></em></p></li>
<li><p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-whats-the-point-of-nits-116158?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=CuriousKidsUK">What’s the point of nits?! – Connie, aged nine, Nambour, Australia.</a></em></p></li>
</ul><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116243/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Lorch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Spiders use different types of silk for different purposes – and not all of them are as strong as steel.Mark Lorch, Professor of Science Communication and Chemistry, University of HullLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1133062019-03-12T10:45:41Z2019-03-12T10:45:41ZStemming the tide of trash: 5 essential reads on recycling<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263227/original/file-20190311-86699-1a266tk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Where does it go from here?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/caucasian-boy-girl-putting-clear-green-139546277">spwidoff/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A year after China upended global materials markets by <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-chinas-crackdown-on-foreign-garbage-force-wealthy-countries-to-recycle-more-of-their-own-waste-81440">banning imports of much solid waste</a>, the effects are still rippling around the globe. Many U.S. recyclers are awash in materials they formerly sent to China for processing. Some cities with few options are burning recyclables in incinerators. </p>
<p>What would it take to reduce U.S. waste management headaches? These five essential reads offer some insights.</p>
<h2>1. Embrace the circular economy</h2>
<p>Waste is inevitable when products are designed to be used and then thrown away. Clyde Eiríkur Hull, professor of management at Rochester Institute of Technology, offers an alternative: a circular economy in which products are used, then <a href="https://theconversation.com/trump-should-wage-a-war-on-waste-instead-of-battling-the-world-over-trade-100712">recycled and remanufactured into new products</a>.</p>
<p>Major U.S. companies, including GM, Caterpillar and Staples, are saving money through recycling and remanufacturing. But Hull says this could be greatly scaled up if the federal government required products to be designed with future reuse in mind and taxed goods that did not comply. </p>
<p>“In an entirely circular economy, the U.S. would most likely still import stuff from abroad, such as steel from China. But that steel would wind up being reused in American factories, employing tax-paying American workers to manufacture new goods,” he writes.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EuiTlN6F_hs?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">China’s waste ban has created a glut in the U.S. and sent prices for scrap materials plunging.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>2. Get serious about recycling plastic</h2>
<p>Of all materials in the waste stream, plastics pose the biggest challenge. They are used in a myriad of consumer goods, including many single-use items such as straws and cutlery, and can take centuries to break down. Kate O'Neill, professor of global environmental policy at the University of California, Berkeley, compares plastic waste to J.R.R. Tolkien’s One Ring, which “can be permanently destroyed only through incineration at extremely high temperatures.”</p>
<p>O'Neill identifies a number of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-plastic-waste-crisis-is-an-opportunity-for-the-us-to-get-serious-about-recycling-at-home-93254">steps to boost plastic recycling</a> in the United States. They include better consumer education about sorting and disposal; less reliance on single-stream collection, which mixes plastics with other materials; more investment in scrap processing facilities; and steps to manage specific plastic products that are hard to recycle, such as 3D printer waste. </p>
<h2>3. Pursue plant-based plastics – and composting</h2>
<p>Conventional plastics are derived from fossil fuel, but they can also be <a href="https://theconversation.com/bio-based-plastics-can-reduce-waste-but-only-if-we-invest-in-both-making-and-getting-rid-of-them-98282">made from renewable biological compounds</a> that break down more easily, such as plant sugars. A key challenge with these products is making items that are strong enough to hold up during use but still biodegradable. </p>
<p>“A straw and cup that disintegrate halfway through your road trip are not much use at all,” observes Michigan State University biochemist Danny Ducat, whose lab is using photosynthetic bacteria to synthesize bioplastic feedstocks.</p>
<p>Bioplastics also require investments at the end of their life cycles, Ducat notes. Like other plant-based materials, such as food scraps, they will only degrade readily in composting facilities, where microbes break them down in the presence of oxygen. Buried in landfills, they will persist for decades or centuries, much like conventional plastics. They also are likely to persist if they end up in other cold places with little oxygen, such as the Arctic or deep ocean waters. </p>
<p>“This means that any breakthroughs in materials science need to be coupled with sustainable methods for bioplastic production and a well-oiled system to direct bioplastic goods into composting facilities,” Ducat writes.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vgJ3et8KK_o?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Paper-based packaging is an alternative to plastic, especially for food products.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Recycle more steel and aluminum</h2>
<p>Recycling is <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-recycling-more-steel-and-aluminum-could-slash-imports-without-a-trade-war-97766">much more developed for metals</a> than it is for plastics. In the United States, about 65 percent of old steel products and 40 to 65 percent of discarded aluminum products are recycled. But Daniel Cooper, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan, asserts that more could be done. </p>
<p>As Cooper explains, the United States exports or throws away a lot of cheap scrap metal, and imports expensive new metal. “As an already industrialized country, the U.S. needs little new metal to meet domestic demand,” he points out. More federal support for metals recycling, he asserts, could slash new steel and aluminum imports. </p>
<p>In addition to saving the money and resources that go into producing new metals, such a policy would cost Americans much less than the tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed on imported steel and aluminum.</p>
<h2>5. Reconsider waste incineration</h2>
<p>Is burning trash instead of recycling it such a bad thing? Bucknell University economist Thomas Kinnaman thinks it’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinas-garbage-ban-upends-us-recycling-is-it-time-to-reconsider-incineration-98206">worth a new look</a>.</p>
<p>As Kinnaman acknowledges, waste incineration is much less popular in the United States than in other regions, including Japan and western Europe. Early U.S. waste combustion plants generated high levels of air pollutants, including hazardous substances such as dioxins, and often were sited in low-income and minority communities.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1092805236467601412"}"></div></p>
<p>But new incinerators burn waste more thoroughly and trap pollutants more effectively. “As a result, dioxin emissions from incinerators with modern abatement technologies are currently near zero. Modern incinerators also include processes to generate electricity, heat water for district heating services, recycle the metals found in the ashes and build tiles from the remaining slag,” Kinnaman states.</p>
<p>Incineration still has clear disadvantages. It’s more expensive than landfilling, and Kinnaman sees some evidence that once countries burn more than 40 percent of their waste, it starts to replace recycling. Nonetheless, he contends, expanding its use in the United States – which currently burns less than 13 percent of its solid waste – could be more socially responsible than shipping plastic scrap to developing countries that are ill-equipped to dispose of it.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This is a roundup of previously published stories.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113306/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
China, which once processed much of the world’s scrap, has slashed imports of “foreign garbage.” What can the US do to step up recycling at home?Jennifer Weeks, Senior Environment + Cities Editor, The ConversationLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1085062018-12-11T19:05:05Z2018-12-11T19:05:05ZLooking good. Why Whyalla, of all places, has a sustainable future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249911/original/file-20181211-76980-9jj6s4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's a long way from most places, but it is about to host a bigger battery than the world's biggest, molten salt solar and pumped hydro generation, and a much bigger steelworks.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p>Whyalla will be wiped off the map by Julia Gillard’s carbon tax, Whyalla risks becoming a ghost town, an economic wasteland if this carbon tax goes ahead - <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/04/27/3201383.htm">Then opposition leader Tony Abbott, campaigning against Julia Gillard’s carbon tax in 2011</a>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Whyalla’s “death notice” has been written a number of times over the past 40 years, beginning with the closure of the shipyards in 1978, continuing with predictions of doom in the lead-up to the carbon tax, and most recently, as what was once the BHP steelworks clung to life, suffocating in debt and despair under its next owner in 2016.</p>
<p>The revival of the regional city that sits on the western side of South Australia’s Spencer Gulf took a big step forward in July 2017 when British-based industrialist Sanjeev Gupta bought the steelworks, and brought hope to the local community of 22,000 people.</p>
<hr>
<hr>
<p>This week that hope turned to optimism when Gupta announced a A$600 million upgrade of the existing steelworks, increasing its capacity to 1.8 million tonnes annually. </p>
<p>That announcement, while welcome news to the 2,500 employees, was accompanied by another one, much bigger – a feasibility study of a state-of-the-art plant <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-10/whyalla-population-to-boom-as-sanjeev-gupta-embarks-on-upgrades/10599158">capable of producing 10 million tonnes of steel for export annually</a>. </p>
<p>If it comes off, it’ll triple Australia’s steel output.</p>
<p>Other potential investments announced on Monday that will define the future of Whyalla include:</p>
<ul>
<li>A A$145 million horticulture business backed by Chinese investment,</li>
<li>A A$45 million four-star hotel for Whyalla’s foreshore, and</li>
<li>A A$6 million organics recycling business.</li>
</ul>
<p>Whyalla is relatively remote, a long distance from both the customers for and many of the raw materials needed to create steel.</p>
<p>But it is rich in wind, with Australia’s biggest collection of wind farms nearby, and rich in sun, enjoying an impressive 300 days of sunshine a year. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249919/original/file-20181211-76989-1dexnv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249919/original/file-20181211-76989-1dexnv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249919/original/file-20181211-76989-1dexnv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=281&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249919/original/file-20181211-76989-1dexnv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=281&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249919/original/file-20181211-76989-1dexnv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=281&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249919/original/file-20181211-76989-1dexnv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249919/original/file-20181211-76989-1dexnv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249919/original/file-20181211-76989-1dexnv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=352&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In a location remote from customers and raw materials, Whyalla appears to be an unlikely place to make steel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/SolarReserve/">Datawrapper</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>Two major renewable energy projects are either underway or are soon to leave the drawing boards near Port Augusta, 75 km north of Whyalla. </p>
<p>The Bungala photovoltaic solar farm, which recently completed its commissioning, is the largest in the southern hemisphere <a href="http://www.reachsolarenergy.com.au/about.html">with a capacity of 220 megawatts</a>. </p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249917/original/file-20181211-76959-y46pxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249917/original/file-20181211-76959-y46pxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249917/original/file-20181211-76959-y46pxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249917/original/file-20181211-76959-y46pxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249917/original/file-20181211-76959-y46pxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=276&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249917/original/file-20181211-76959-y46pxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249917/original/file-20181211-76959-y46pxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249917/original/file-20181211-76959-y46pxa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=346&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Bungala Solar Farm, near Port Augusta, is Australia’s biggest operational photovoltaic solar plant.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Enel Green Power</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>The <a href="https://solarreserve.com/en">Aurora concentrated solar thermal project</a> involves a massive array of mirrors that direct the sun’s energy onto a receptor where molten salt retains the energy. </p>
<p>The super-hot salt is despatched through a heat exchanger where it produces steam which, in turn, generates electricity with a conventional steam turbine. It has a capacity of 150 megawatts but, importantly, it can store 1,100 megawatt hours of energy, thereby overcoming one of the major shortcomings of renewable energy.</p>
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<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249920/original/file-20181211-76980-l6biq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249920/original/file-20181211-76980-l6biq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/249920/original/file-20181211-76980-l6biq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249920/original/file-20181211-76980-l6biq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249920/original/file-20181211-76980-l6biq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249920/original/file-20181211-76980-l6biq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249920/original/file-20181211-76980-l6biq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/249920/original/file-20181211-76980-l6biq3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Solar thermal uses mirrors to concentrate sunlight onto a tower that heats molten salt.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.facebook.com/SolarReserve/">Facebook: Solar Reserve</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>As the SA Centre for Economic Studies has <a href="http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/180297/Regional_Profile_Summary_Whyalla_and_Eyre_Peninsula.pdf">previously reported</a>, the availability of cheaper renewable energy will be a competitive advantage for Whyalla and, more generally, the greater Eyre Peninsula region. </p>
<p>This power advantage can be coupled with the region’s other colossal advantage – space. There is abundant land to support low-cost, large-scale agricultural and horticultural production, a point implicitly confirmed by Monday’s announcement of a proposed A$145 million solar greenhouse.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"896985346147102721"}"></div></p>
<p>It’s an outlook that is a far cry from the dark days in 2016 when Arrium, an ofshoot of BHP, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-07/arrium-enters-voluntary-administration/7306340">went into voluntary administration owing A$4 billion</a>.</p>
<p>The subsequent administration of the steelworks by <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/kordamentha-letter-says-stabilising-arrium-first-step-20160414-go5zzn.html">consulting group KordaMentha</a> was a complex affair with negotiations culminating in workers taking a pay cut and the state and federal governments stepping up with assistance packages that proved critical to the immediate viability of the plant and its eventual sale to Sanjeev Gupta’s <a href="https://www.gfgalliance.com/">GFG Alliance</a>.</p>
<p>The state government contributed A$50 million for a future purchaser to make capital improvements at the steelworks, waived royalties on the magnetite ore that the steelworks were reconfigured to consume, provided $5 million dollars to ensure that Arrium’s creditors could survive, and implemented a range of skills development and training programs. </p>
<hr>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1043999953993916417"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>The federal government also chipped in with A$20 million for regional training and investment, and sourced steel from Whyalla for a major upgrade of the Tarcoola rail line.</p>
<p>In 2016, our centre published <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/saces/">Whyalla Economic Development: A Plan for the Future</a> and said the city needed a serious discussion to plan its future because a narrow view focused on shipbuilding in earlier times, and steel-making more recently, had compromised its economic viability.</p>
<p>Part of that planning had to include decisions on such infrastructure improvements as upgrading the electricity transmission system to give it the capacity to carry growing volumes of renewable energy, which is harder to carry than power from conventional generators.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/at-its-current-rate-australia-is-on-track-for-50-renewable-electricity-in-2025-102903">At its current rate, Australia is on track for 50% renewable electricity in 2025</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Investment in human capital is also required. We were encouraged to see the state government act on our 2016 recommendation and commit A$100 million towards building a new high school, which is scheduled to open in 2022.</p>
<p>The suite of development proposals announced on Monday came with claims that Whyalla’s population could <a href="https://premier.sa.gov.au/news/big-reveal-whyalla">quadruple to 80,000 people as a consequence</a>. An expansion of that size would itself be a major economic stimulus through all the housing, transport and other services required.</p>
<p>Such growth, complemented by effective promotion and marketing that has been missing in the past, could make Whyalla “the gateway” to the greater Eyre Peninsula and the tourism attractions that lie beyond.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1072234921723195392"}"></div></p>
<p>KordaMentha’s partner, Mark Mentha, told the ABC’s Australian Story in September that when he arrived as administrator of Arrium, he saw “<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-24/whyalla-steelworks-how-a-town-saved-itself/9984998">vulnerability and fear</a>” in the eyes of steelworkers.</p>
<p>If he went back, he would see hope and optimism.</p>
<p><em>Written with Peter Gill, business journalist at the South Australian Centre for Economic Studies.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/diminishing-city-hope-despair-and-whyalla-69988">Diminishing city: hope, despair and Whyalla</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/108506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael O'Neil does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Far from being wiped off the map as was once predicted, Whyalla is coming back in an unlikely way, as potentially Australia’s biggest steel producer powered almost entirely by renewable energy.Michael O'Neil, Executive Director, SA Centre for Economic Studies, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/977662018-06-15T10:45:47Z2018-06-15T10:45:47ZHow recycling more steel and aluminum could slash imports without a trade war<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222657/original/file-20180611-191951-t19imp.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A jumble of steel scrap</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Cooper</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many economists expect President Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44320221">tariffs on imported steel and aluminum</a> to increase what American companies and consumers pay for those metals and the goods made from them. Dozens of companies have already said they will have to fire workers or even <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/06/08/617200482/trumps-tariffs-worry-a-small-steel-city-in-pennsylvania">go out of business</a>. And, as the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-44345129">retaliatory tariffs</a> Canada, Japan, Mexico and other countries have announced underscore, the U.S. is heading for a <a href="https://theconversation.com/4-charts-showing-why-putting-tariffs-on-your-friends-is-a-bad-idea-97582">trade war</a> with the nation’s closest allies.</p>
<p>But having spent the last eight years researching how to make <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=4XQeuikAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">the steel and aluminum industries more efficient</a>, I believe it’s possible for the U.S. to slash imports of these metals not by imposing duties but by boosting the reuse and recycling of old metal products.</p>
<p>Making far more of the nation’s discarded steel and aluminum scrap as good as new would have many advantages aside from its diplomatic dividends, such as <a href="http://www.mgg-recycling.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/BIR_CO2_report.pdf">cutting pollution</a> and <a href="http://recycling.world-aluminium.org/review/sustainability/">energy consumption</a>.</p>
<h2>The US market</h2>
<p>The U.S. makes most of its steel and aluminum by <a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/iron_&_steel/mcs-2018-feste.pdf">recycling scrap metal from manufacturers and from discarded products</a> such as demolished buildings, old cars and thrown away cans. </p>
<p>The U.S. made <a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/iron_&_steel/mcs-2018-feste.pdf">82 million metric tons of steel</a> in 2017, enough to form a continuous steel beam that could circle the globe eight times. Some 68 percent of that steel was made from scrap metal. </p>
<p><iframe id="xtC5k" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/xtC5k/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The <a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/aluminum/mis-201712-alumi.pdf">4.4 million metric tons of aluminum</a> the U.S. made in 2017 could be turned into a stack of soda cans tall enough to reach Mars. Some 83 percent of that aluminum was from recycled metal. </p>
<p>While this may sound like an impressive amount of recycling, I believe much more of America’s scrap metal could be recycled domestically. Researchers estimate that only <a href="http://www.dovetailinc.org/report_pdfs/2015/dovetailsteelrecycling0315.pdf">around 65 percent of old U.S. steel products</a> and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800912002339">between 40 and 65 percent of discarded American aluminum products</a> are collected for recycling. The rest of that metal ends up in landfills. </p>
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<p>The U.S. also exports much of the scrap metal that it does collect to countries like <a href="http://www.mylotrade.com/turkish-ferrous-scrap-imports-from-u-s.html">Turkey</a>, where it gets recycled.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.scrapmonster.com/news/us-aluminum-waste-and-scrap-exports-surged-20/1/66527">China has until now been</a> a leading importer of American scrap metal. But <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-29/need-any-junk-scrap-metal-dealers-hunting-users-after-china-ban">it recently began to try to ward off scrap</a> metal imports <a href="http://www.waste360.com/metals/recycling-industry-responds-china-s-announcement-aluminum-scrap-tariffs">to retaliate against Trump’s tariffs</a> with stiff duties of its own.</p>
<h2>Trade deficits and surpluses</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/iron_&_steel_scrap/mis-201712-fescr.pdf">U.S. exported 15 million metric tons of steel scrap and imported around 4 million metric tons of it</a> in 2017, running an 11 million metric ton trade surplus.</p>
<p>In the same year, the <a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/aluminum/mis-201712-alumi.pdf">U.S. exported 1.6 million metric tons of aluminum scrap, and imported 700,000 metric tons</a>, running a 900,000 metric ton trade surplus.</p>
<p>Even though the U.S. exports and throws away tons of cheap scrap metal, America imports expensive new metals. It <a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/iron_&_steel/mcs-2018-feste.pdf">exported 11 million metric tons of new steel and imported 36 million metric tons</a> of it in 2017 – running a 25 million metric ton trade deficit.</p>
<p>In the same year, the <a href="https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/aluminum/mis-201712-alumi.pdf">U.S. exported 1.3 million metric tons of new aluminum, and imported 6.2 metric tons</a> – a nearly 5 million metric ton trade deficit.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/mar/13/donald-trump/donald-trump-right-aluminum-steel-industries-have-/">Trump administration has deemed this valuable imported metal to be excessive</a> and a threat to American jobs and national security. Those concerns are what led to its decision to slap tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. </p>
<p>Regardless of whether those assertions are reasonable, I believe that these imports, nearly <a href="https://www.commerce.gov/file/effect-imports-aluminum-national-security-investigation-conducted-under-section-232-trade">two-thirds of the aluminum</a> and about <a href="https://www.trade.gov/steel/countries/pdfs/imports-us.pdf">one-third of the steel</a> the U.S. consumed in 2017, could be nearly entirely displaced if America were to step up its reuse of scrap metal. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222459/original/file-20180609-191947-dqy9mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222459/original/file-20180609-191947-dqy9mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222459/original/file-20180609-191947-dqy9mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222459/original/file-20180609-191947-dqy9mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222459/original/file-20180609-191947-dqy9mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=365&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222459/original/file-20180609-191947-dqy9mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222459/original/file-20180609-191947-dqy9mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222459/original/file-20180609-191947-dqy9mg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=459&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Structural steel slated for reuse.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Cooper</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>More sustainable</h2>
<p>As an already industrialized country, the U.S. needs <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es102273t">little new metal to meet domestic demand</a>.</p>
<p>This is because so many <a href="http://www.withbotheyesopen.com/">Americans already have all the cars, stoves, washing machines, offices and infrastructure</a> a society could need at a time when the <a href="http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/us-population/">U.S. population isn’t growing much</a>. The average per capita ownership of metal in the U.S. has remained flat for <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es102273t">nearly half a century at around 13 tons</a>.</p>
<p>Providing replacements for old cars and demolished buildings by reusing and recycling steel and aluminum is much <a href="http://www.withbotheyesopen.com/">more environmentally friendly than making metal from ore</a>. Mining iron ore and bauxite, the naturally occurring mineral containing aluminum, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128040409000048">destroys habitats and endangers plant and animal life</a>. </p>
<p>Converting these minerals into steel and aluminum <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35428382">releases toxic byproducts</a> as well as <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es902909k">10 percent of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions</a>, according to the International Energy Agency.</p>
<p>Making <a href="http://www.withbotheyesopen.com/">steel from ore requires making iron first</a> using coke, a high-carbon fuel made by baking coal at over 1,000 degrees Celsius. Coke removes oxygen from the iron oxide in the ore, producing iron but inevitably creating carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas then released to the atmosphere.</p>
<p>Between the bauxite mining, refining, smelting and casting processes, the aluminum industry is among the world’s <a href="http://climate.columbia.edu/files/2012/04/GNCS-Aluminum-Factsheet.pdf">most energy-intensive</a>. Despite some <a href="https://www.engineering.com/AdvancedManufacturing/ArticleID/16941/Revolutionary-Aluminum-Process-Eliminates-Emissions-Produces-Oxygen.aspx">promising technological breakthroughs</a>, the simplest way to make this flexible, durable and strong metal with less power and fewer emissions is by <a href="https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/11/f4/al_theoretical.pdf">recycling the metal</a>.</p>
<p>Recycling also <a href="http://www.withbotheyesopen.com/">has a much-smaller carbon footprint</a>. The greenhouse gas emissions for recycling steel are around one-quarter of what they are for making new steel, and recycling aluminum <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/materials-and-the-environment/ashby/978-0-12-385971-6">cuts emissions by more than 80 percent</a>. </p>
<p><iframe id="fX2LY" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/fX2LY/10/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Recycling challenges</h2>
<p>Recycling steel and aluminum entails melting the metals in large <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_arc_furnace">electric arc</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverberatory_furnace#Aluminium_melting">gas-fired</a> furnaces and casting new metal.</p>
<p>Having a mix of metals in the furnace can <a href="https://www.thebalancesmb.com/an-introduction-to-metal-recycling-4057469">lower the recycled metal’s quality</a>. Steel that contains <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.est.7b00997">just 0.1 percent copper contamination can be liable to crack</a> during manufacturing.</p>
<p>So recyclers will try to separate discarded old products into piles of different metals before adding any to their furnaces. For example, they shred old cars into small pieces with large mechanical shears before <a href="https://www.thebalancesmb.com/an-introduction-to-metal-recycling-4057469">ferreting out the steel they want to recycle with magnets</a>.</p>
<p>This is hard to do well, especially when it comes to, say, removing the <a href="https://www.tudelft.nl/en/ceg/about-faculty/departments/engineering-structures/sections-labs/resources-recycling/research/steel-scrap/">copper wiring found in car electronics</a> from shredded steel scrap or <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es405604g">taking the steel rivets out of aluminum car panels</a>. </p>
<p>Because <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/01/14/american-scrap">there is little demand for contaminated metal</a>, U.S. scrap dealers often <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344917301520">sell it to buyers in developing countries</a> where low-paid workers sort through the discarded metal by hand.</p>
<p>I believe that increased federal support for metal recycling, such as funding research that would facilitate better <a href="http://gesingconsultants.com/publications/TMS2016%20REWAS%20%20Mg%20Electrorefining%20Results.pdf">scrap metal refining</a> and <a href="http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/business/incentives.htm">low-interest loans or tax breaks for recyclers investing in the latest sorting and refining technology</a>, would cost Americans far less than the <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2018/03/06/how-trumps-steel-and-aluminum-tariffs-could-affect-state-economies/">potential consequences of the new tariffs</a>. It would also slash new steel and aluminum imports while reducing pollution.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222458/original/file-20180609-191943-1cgiycf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222458/original/file-20180609-191943-1cgiycf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222458/original/file-20180609-191943-1cgiycf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222458/original/file-20180609-191943-1cgiycf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222458/original/file-20180609-191943-1cgiycf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222458/original/file-20180609-191943-1cgiycf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222458/original/file-20180609-191943-1cgiycf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222458/original/file-20180609-191943-1cgiycf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Aluminum cans destined for recycling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniel Cooper</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97766/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Daniel Cooper does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If the US were to stop dumping these valuable metals in landfills and to cease exporting them as cheap scrap, its imports could fall, and there would be less of these metals being made from scratch.Daniel Cooper, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/976512018-06-07T09:47:03Z2018-06-07T09:47:03ZHow US tariffs will affect different parts of the EU<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222148/original/file-20180607-137306-1ied3qm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The recent introduction of <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44320221">tariffs by the US administration on steel and aluminium</a> products has reignited a heated debate about protectionism and the future of globalisation. First directed mainly at China, the tariff exemptions against allies – the EU, Mexico and Canada – have now been lifted. This means there will now be a 25% duty on European steel and a 10% duty on European aluminium that is exported to the US.</p>
<p>EU leaders are clearly angry with the decision. The EU is officially <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jun/01/eu-starts-retaliation-against-donald-trumps-steel-and-aluminium-tariffs">challenging the tariffs</a> at the World Trade Organisation’s trade court. Meanwhile, leaders from Germany, France, the UK and Italy are likely to take the US president to task over the matter at the upcoming G7 summit.</p>
<p>There is clearly a political element at play, but here I outline the economic costs – and possible benefits – for the EU, so long as things do not escalate.</p>
<p>According to standard <a href="http://internationalecon.com/Trade/Tch90/T90-8.php">international trade theory</a>, when a large economy such as the US introduces a tariff (which is basically an import tax) on a good, the price of that good will increase in the US and decline elsewhere. So steel and aluminium will become more expensive in the US and less expensive globally. </p>
<p>The reason behind this is that the tariff will make importing foreign steel and aluminium into the US more expensive – because the foreign supply of these goods in the US is reduced. Exports from countries around the world that were previously heading to the US now have to be redirected to other countries. As a consequence, world supply (outside the US) of steel and aluminium will increase and so its price in world markets will fall. </p>
<h2>Winners and losers</h2>
<p>These price movements will cause several effects in different countries around the world. Focusing on the 28 EU countries, overall the net effect of the US tariff to EU countries is going to be negative and there will be two types of broad effects – direct and indirect. </p>
<p>The direct effect in the EU will be negative for aluminium and steel producers and their workers, since their exports to the US are going to be hampered. The position of EU aluminium and steel producers could further deteriorate because the US has already introduced tariffs for these goods to other countries such as China and producers from these countries are already trying to redirect their exports from the US to the EU. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222151/original/file-20180607-137291-1xezq95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222151/original/file-20180607-137291-1xezq95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222151/original/file-20180607-137291-1xezq95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222151/original/file-20180607-137291-1xezq95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222151/original/file-20180607-137291-1xezq95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222151/original/file-20180607-137291-1xezq95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/222151/original/file-20180607-137291-1xezq95.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Donald Trump: ‘Trade wars are good, and easy to win’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">JStone / Shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But the <a href="http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-016894_QID_448C6215_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=PRODUCT,C,X,0;REPORTER,L,X,1;PERIOD,L,Y,0;PARTNER,L,Z,0;FLOW,L,Z,1;INDICATORS,C,Z,2;&zSelection=DS-016894INDICATORS,VALUE_IN_EUROS;DS-016894FLOW,2;DS-016894PARTNER,US;&rankName1=PARTNER_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=FLOW_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=PRODUCT_1_2_0_0&rankName5=REPORTER_1_2_1_0&rankName6=PERIOD_1_0_0_1&sortR=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23">significance of EU steel and aluminium exports</a> is rather small – about 1.23% and 0.43% of total EU exports to the US. The indirect effect on EU countries will be positive for firms that use steel and aluminium intensively – primarily manufacturing and also construction. </p>
<p>This is because the lower steel and aluminium price outside the US will reduce their costs and could be passed onto consumers in the form of lower prices. Exactly how big this positive effect will be, in reality, depends on numerous factors – the size of the US steel and aluminium market, the exact market conditions of these goods globally, the elasticity of demand and supply and possible exchange rate fluctuations. </p>
<p>The adverse effect on steel and aluminium producers in the EU is not going to be distributed evenly across countries. Those with bigger exposure to exports into the US are going to be affected more. The <a href="http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-016894_QID_-5A4711B5_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=PRODUCT,C,X,0;REPORTER,L,X,1;PERIOD,L,Y,0;PARTNER,L,Z,0;FLOW,L,Z,1;INDICATORS,C,Z,2;&zSelection=DS-016894INDICATORS,VALUE_IN_EUROS;DS-016894FLOW,2;DS-016894PARTNER,US;&rankName1=PARTNER_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=FLOW_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=PRODUCT_1_2_0_0&rankName5=REPORTER_1_2_1_0&rankName6=PERIOD_1_0_0_1&sortR=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23">biggest EU aluminium exporters to the US</a> are Germany, with a 29% share of total EU exports to the US, followed by France (15%), Italy (12%), Austria (9%) and the UK (7%). </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-protectionism-and-could-it-benefit-the-us-economy-73706">Explainer: what is protectionism and could it benefit the US economy?</a>
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<p>For steel, <a href="http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-016894_QID_13FEF991_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=PRODUCT,C,X,0;REPORTER,L,X,1;PERIOD,L,Y,0;PARTNER,L,Z,0;FLOW,L,Z,1;INDICATORS,C,Z,2;&zSelection=DS-016894FLOW,2;DS-016894INDICATORS,VALUE_IN_EUROS;DS-016894PARTNER,US;&rankName1=PARTNER_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=FLOW_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=PRODUCT_1_2_0_0&rankName5=REPORTER_1_0_1_0&rankName6=PERIOD_1_0_0_1&sortR=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23">the largest EU exporters to the US</a> are Germany, with a 23% share of the bloc’s exports, followed by the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy, which all have an 11% share of exports. </p>
<p>Another dimension to the problem from an EU country’s perspective is how important these exports to the US are at a national level. <a href="http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-016894_QID_757949B1_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=PRODUCT,C,X,0;REPORTER,L,X,1;PERIOD,L,Y,0;PARTNER,L,Z,0;FLOW,L,Z,1;INDICATORS,C,Z,2;&zSelection=DS-016894FLOW,2;DS-016894INDICATORS,VALUE_IN_EUROS;DS-016894PARTNER,US;&rankName1=PARTNER_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=FLOW_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=PRODUCT_1_2_0_0&rankName5=REPORTER_1_0_1_0&rankName6=PERIOD_1_0_0_1&sortR=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23">Luxembourg</a>, for example, exports steel to the US and this makes up a significant portion of its total exports to US, between 15% and 31% during the period 2000-17. So Luxembourg could be disproportionately hit by the tariffs.</p>
<p>Similarly, for <a href="http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-016894_QID_-28BAEC4D_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=PRODUCT,C,X,0;REPORTER,L,X,1;PERIOD,L,Y,0;PARTNER,L,Z,0;FLOW,L,Z,1;INDICATORS,C,Z,2;&zSelection=DS-016894FLOW,2;DS-016894INDICATORS,VALUE_IN_EUROS;DS-016894PARTNER,US;&rankName1=PARTNER_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=FLOW_1_2_-1_2&rankName4=PRODUCT_1_2_0_0&rankName5=REPORTER_1_0_1_0&rankName6=PERIOD_1_0_0_1&sortR=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=NONE&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23">Greece and Romania</a>, steel made up more than 10% of their total exports going to US in 2015. So, although these exports levels to the US seem low when compared with other EU countries, they are of high economic significance at a national level. Hence, these countries are going to experience some of the most adverse effects of the US tariffs.</p>
<h2>Risks of escalation</h2>
<p>The most worrying aspect of Trump’s decision to introduce tariffs is the rhetoric that has been used by some EU and US officials regarding a “trade war”. It is expected somehow that <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-44320727">the EU, along with Mexico and Canada</a>, will retaliate with their own protectionist measures against US products. This escalation will make everyone worse off in the end.</p>
<p>The US has also looked at the possibility of introducing <a href="https://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2018/05/us-department-commerce-initiates-section-232-investigation-auto-imports">more tariffs, on imported cars and trucks</a>. This is a much more important and large sector in terms of value and share of EU exports. Then there is the risk that various EU countries might push for protectionist policies in an attempt to win popularity among their electorates.</p>
<p>As things stand, the tariffs on steel and aluminium introduced by the US do not pose a threat to the global economy, even though they are clearly a negative development in international relations. But the adoption of protectionist rhetoric by other major economies and, even worse, the implementation of such policies could potentially be very harmful for global trade and prosperity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/97651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Agelos Delis had received funding from Leverhulme Trust and Lloyds Banking Group. </span></em></p>US tariffs could potentially benefit some EU firms that rely on steel and aluminium.Agelos Delis, Lecturer in Economics, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/954872018-04-26T10:39:31Z2018-04-26T10:39:31ZHow transshipment may undercut Trump’s tariffs<p>President <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-prime-minister-lofven-sweden-joint-press-conference/">Donald Trump is vowing</a> to crack down on deceptive transshipment. That is the practice of moving cargo from one country to another by way of a third nation to evade trade restrictions. </p>
<p>As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9_99Y6kAAAAJ&hl=en">international economist</a>, I have researched the impact of imported textiles and apparel on those industries in North Carolina over the last 20 years. Based on this recent history, I believe it will be hard for Trump to succeed. </p>
<h2>Indirect routes</h2>
<p>Not all transshipments are intentionally misleading. For example, a car shipped from Stockholm, Sweden, to Montreal, Canada, may first travel to New York City’s port, before being transferred to another boat, a train or a tractor-trailer for the NYC-Montreal leg of the trip.</p>
<p>These indirect routes <a href="https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8MtLHcYnWCGZU8zbnB0cVN2VlE/">can reduce</a> costs when they let shipping companies move more freight on their busiest routes.</p>
<p>But the Trump administration claims something else is going on with Chinese steel. Washington is accusing Chinese steelmakers of routing their U.S.-bound product through <a href="https://www.commerce.gov/sites/commerce.gov/files/the_effect_of_imports_of_steel_on_the_national_security_-_with_redactions_-_20180111.pdf,%20Appendix%20L">Vietnam and other Asian countries</a> to avoid existing tariffs on Chinese steel. That could become even more of a problem if the administration goes ahead with plans to impose new <a href="https://www.npr.org/2018/03/08/591744195/trump-expected-to-formally-order-tariffs-on-steel-aluminum-imports">25 percent tariffs</a> on Chinese steel. </p>
<p>Federal rules of origin allow importers to say goods hail from a given country as long as they were “<a href="https://www.cbp.gov/document/publications/rules-origin">substantially transformed</a>” there. Slapping a “made in” label onto a steel slab doesn’t satisfy this criterion, while rolling that steel into finished pipes in that country definitely does. In practice, determining what qualifies as enough transformation requires exercising discretion that is hard to make objective or translate into clear and fair rules.</p>
<p>Asian officials insist that the Chinese steel now irking the Trump administration is being processed before being designated as a different product and purchased by U.S. manufacturers as “made in Vietnam” or another country. </p>
<h2>A precedent</h2>
<p>The Trump White House isn’t the first to suspect China of transshipping to dodge trade barriers. In the early 1990s, the U.S. subjected textiles and apparel imported from China and other emerging economies to annual quotas under the <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm5_e.htm">Multi-Fiber Agreement</a>.</p>
<p>At the same time, according to a Chinese-U.S. research team, <a href="https://hctar.seas.harvard.edu/files/hctar/files/gs01.pdf">these Chinese products</a> were often transshipped to the U.S. via Hong Kong. While the <a href="http://otexa.trade.gov/twgrep.pdf">U.S. Customs Service</a> tried to detect and crack down on this practice, that proved a <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/250/241271.html">daunting task</a>.</p>
<p>Deceptive transshipments violate international law, but are costly and hard to stamp out. I believe efforts to do so will also discourage imports that are valuable to U.S. consumers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/95487/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrick Conway does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>This speed read explores why it’s hard to stop manufacturers in specific countries from dodging trade barriers by pretending that their goods come from somewhere else.Patrick Conway, Professor of Economics, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/931042018-03-21T10:41:00Z2018-03-21T10:41:00ZTariffs won’t save American steel jobs. But we can still help steelworkers<p>President Donald Trump has been promising to save American manufacturing, and the steel industry in particular, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-trumps-threat-to-slap-tariffs-on-foreign-steel-is-a-bad-idea-80847">since the presidential campaign</a>. His attempt to follow through on that promise was the March 8 tariff increase on foreign steel and aluminum, <a href="http://fortune.com/2018/03/08/trump-signs-tariffs-steel-aluminum/">arguing that the tariffs were necessary</a> to protect U.S. industries and workers. </p>
<p>Trump joins <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-protectionism-continues-long-history-of-us-rejection-of-free-trade-91190">a long line of presidents</a>, both Republican and Democrat, who have used trade policy in an attempt to create or protect jobs – <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bs-ed-0129-trade-war-20180125-story.html">almost always in vain</a>. </p>
<p>Research shows that tariffs <a href="https://wol.iza.org/articles/international-trade-regulation-and-job-creation/long">only delay</a> the industries’ inevitable decline. At best, Trump’s tariffs will only hurt industries dependent on steel and aluminum, like auto and construction, which together <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/tariffs-will-force-trump-to-break-key-campaign-promises/2018/03/06/d3d28ee4-2158-11e8-badd-7c9f29a55815_story.html?utm_term=.7cd2bdfb25b5">employ more than 7 million workers</a> – compared with steel’s 160,000. At worst, it will <a href="https://theconversation.com/trade-wars-are-good-3-past-conflicts-tell-a-very-different-story-92801">spark a trade war</a> that will harm many other industries and, ultimately, mean higher prices for every single American.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=0M6hB44AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Our review</a> of recent research on the topic shows that the choice between tariffs and abandoning workers is a false one. More targeted alternative policies are available that can protect workers without damaging the U.S. economy – or sparking a trade war.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211244/original/file-20180320-80640-1s8sk1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/211244/original/file-20180320-80640-1s8sk1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211244/original/file-20180320-80640-1s8sk1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211244/original/file-20180320-80640-1s8sk1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211244/original/file-20180320-80640-1s8sk1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211244/original/file-20180320-80640-1s8sk1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/211244/original/file-20180320-80640-1s8sk1k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">President Donald Trump holds up his proclamation on steel imports.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Susan Walsh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Politics of protection</h2>
<p>Regardless of political party, promising to protect vulnerable manufacturing industries – along with blaming foreign trade for their woes – has always been an effective vote-winning strategy. </p>
<p>Trump’s rivals in the 2016 campaign <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/magazine/why-are-politicians-so-obsessed-with-manufacturing.html">made similar promises</a> to shield American workers from foreign competition. </p>
<p>Sixteen months after winning the election, Trump has followed through on his pledge by slapping a tariff of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum. Both industries <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2018/mar/13/donald-trump/donald-trump-right-aluminum-steel-industries-have-/">have experienced rapid declines</a> in employment in recent decades.</p>
<p>Reality, however, isn’t so simple.</p>
<h2>US manufacturing is not in decline</h2>
<p>Despite the political rhetoric, data from the Federal Reserve show that American manufacturing is hardly in decline. In fact, U.S. industrial production <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/INDPRO?utm_source=series_page&utm_medium=related_content&utm_term=related_resources&utm_campaign=categories">is at an all-time high</a> and has grown pretty steadily for more than a century. </p>
<p>In 2017, the American economy churned out twice as much industrial production as it did in 1979. That means the economy produced more items and at a higher value than ever before in everything from steel to furniture to cheese. </p>
<p><iframe id="wkSzn" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/wkSzn/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Instead, what has declined precipitously are <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MANEMP">manufacturing jobs</a>. Employment in the sector dropped 36 percent from its peak in 1979 through January 2017. </p>
<p>The reason these two facts coexist is that industrial productivity has skyrocketed, with the average worker in 2017 producing roughly 300 percent more than someone in 1979 did. </p>
<h2>Steel’s story</h2>
<p>American steel tells a similar story – with a twist. </p>
<p>As opposed to manufacturing in general, American steel production has <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/IPN3311A2RN">declined from its heyday in the 1970s</a>. </p>
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<p>That drop, however, took place in the early 1980s, not in the last three decades when trade expanded rapidly. Thus, it is difficult to see how trade could be a main driver behind the low output.</p>
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<p>More importantly, the number of steel jobs has fallen at a much greater pace thanks to significant increases in productivity. Each ton of steel produced today <a href="https://apnews.com/cae426730cd74e64932e4be7fa5cdebc/As-Trump-weighs-tariff,-US-steelmakers-enjoy-rising-profits#/pq=FGkzC0">takes a mere 1.5 worker hours</a>, whereas it took more than 10 hours in 1980. Just as with <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/515926/how-technology-is-destroying-jobs/">manufacturing more broadly</a>, technology and automation – not trade – explain the lion’s share of job losses.</p>
<p>Still, it is hard to deny the close relationship between trade and manufacturing output. More trade means better salaries, lower prices and better-quality products across most of the economy. And the overwhelming majority of research in economics supports the notion that trade and the <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.89.3.379">total size of an economy are closely linked</a>.</p>
<p>This connection is because of something economists call “comparative advantage.” As trade increases, countries will tend to make more of what they are most effective at producing. This expands the overall amount of production across the world and lowers prices for consumers. This is part of why world steel production has <a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/media-centre/press-releases/2017/world-steel-in-figures-2017.html">more than doubled since 1980</a>. </p>
<p>But this comes at a cost: The industries and workers in countries that are less efficient at something will suffer, as has been the case with U.S. steel, whose share of world production has decreased from <a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/en/dam/jcr:6640a8bf-6b7d-41e2-bf79-83e290b5fbdf/Steel+statistical+yearbook+1980.pdf">16 percent in 1979</a> to just <a href="https://www.worldsteel.org/en/dam/jcr:3e275c73-6f11-4e7f-a5d8-23d9bc5c508f/Steel+Statistical+Yearbook+2017.pdf">4.8 percent in 2016</a>.</p>
<p>In other words, while international trade is a crucial part of economic development, benefiting almost everyone in the U.S. economy, some inevitably lose out. In recent decades, this same fate has befallen other U.S. industries, typically those that are very labor intensive, such as the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/05/five-us-industry-sectors-decline-voters-trump">textile and apparel industries</a>. </p>
<h2>Manufacturing clusters</h2>
<p>Compounding the negative impact, manufacturing industries tend to be in <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.103.6.2121">concentrated geographic areas</a>. </p>
<p>Companies <a href="http://www.nber.org/chapters/c7977.pdf">often benefit</a> from being close to their competitors because that attracts lots of skilled workers, making manufacturing easier and cheaper. This is why so many car manufacturers are centered around Detroit and why a <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/welcome-to-button-town-china/">single city in China</a> produces 60 percent of the world’s buttons.</p>
<p>If steel production were spread out across the country and not <a href="http://www.nwitimes.com/business/lake-newsletter/indiana-again-no-in-steel-production/article_40d11950-767e-59b9-9233-e81ffb31384d.html">concentrated in a few states</a>, it would be easier for displaced workers to find new jobs quickly.</p>
<p>Instead, steelworkers are <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/here-are-the-states-most-threatened-by-steel-tariffs-2018-03-06">centered around places</a> like Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan. And some communities, such as Gary, Indiana, which are built around the steel industry and the workers it employs, are particularly at risk. </p>
<p>Tariffs, however, cannot hope to keep technology and automation at bay, and <a href="https://wol.iza.org/articles/international-trade-regulation-and-job-creation">research overwhelmingly shows</a> that tariffs are ineffective at mitigating the negative impact from trade.</p>
<p>The last time the U.S. imposed a steel tariff, in 2002, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/george-w-bush-tried-steel-tariffs-it-didnt-work-92904">economy lost more jobs</a> than the entire steel industry employs. </p>
<h2>What can be done</h2>
<p>That does not mean the government should throw up its hands. There are tangible and straightforward policies that national or state governments can pursue to help displaced steelworkers, without hurting everyone else in the process. </p>
<p>The key is to first understand the real challenge. It isn’t that these workers are suddenly without employment – Americans on average <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/tenure.nr0.htm">hold a job for just 4.2 years</a> – it’s that they cannot easily find new work, particularly when it requires moving to a new industry or different part of the country. And the reasons are twofold: a lack of information and the high costs of relocation.</p>
<p><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=851184">Economists have found</a> that workers – particularly low-skilled and less-educated ones – often fail to find new work simply because they don’t know how to locate open positions or effectively use common services like private job search engines. </p>
<p>And because laid-off steelworkers are often geographically concentrated, finding new work means going where the jobs are, which can be prohibitively expensive. On average, relocation costs (including the psychological cost of having to adjust to a new community) are more the <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.100.3.1008">twice the yearly income</a> of a typical U.S. worker. </p>
<p>While the government is powerless to preserve old steel jobs, it has powerful tools at its disposal to address these problems.</p>
<p>Currently, the federal government offers <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-help-free-trades-losers-make-adjustment-assistance-more-than-just-burial-insurance-67036">trade adjustment assistance</a> to provide workers displaced by trade with training and some extended unemployment benefits. But research shows that the program <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/aid-for-workers-untouched-by-debate-over-trade-deal-1431277766">doesn’t provide enough benefits to offset costs incurred by workers</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-help-free-trades-losers-make-adjustment-assistance-more-than-just-burial-insurance-67036">who call it “burial insurance.”</a> </p>
<p>To solve the first problem, government agencies could do more to bring information about available jobs to the displaced workers, which would substantially increase the odds that they find new positions – and <a href="https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/26352">at little cost</a>. </p>
<p>The relocation problem requires more money in the form of direct assistance to the workers to help them move. While it may initially sound expensive – perhaps tens of thousands of dollars per worker – it is actually much less costly than tariffs. An Obama-era tariff on Chinese tires, for example, <a href="https://www.uschamber.com/series/above-the-fold/would-tariff-wall-really-protect-us-jobs">cost the economy more than US$900,000 per job</a> temporarily saved. We could save taxpayers (who, of course, are consumers) money by giving each displaced worker $100,000 to find and move to a new job.</p>
<p>As has been repeated incessantly, <a href="https://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/page1-econ/2017/11/01/does-international-trade-create-winners-and-losers/">trade creates winners and losers</a>, but substantially more of the former than the latter. If the government used just a fraction of the benefits accrued to the winners and reinvested it in the few workers who end up worse off, there would be no losers at all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93104/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>President Trump’s new tariffs suggest he doesn’t understand why American steel and aluminum have been hurt in the first place.Morten Wendelbo, Lecturer, Bush School of Government and Public Service; Research Fellow, Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs; and, Policy Sciences Lecturer, Texas A&M University Libraries, Texas A&M UniversityRaymond Robertson, Professor of Economics and Government, Texas A&M UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/929042018-03-08T21:17:42Z2018-03-08T21:17:42ZGeorge W. Bush tried steel tariffs. It didn’t work<p>President Donald Trump seems to be on a tariff-setting tear in recent weeks. </p>
<p>It all began on March 8, when the president finally followed through on an <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/07/12/top-obama-bush-advisers-band-together-to-warn-trump-against-steel-tariffs/">almost year-old threat</a> to restrict imports of foreign steel. </p>
<p>The administration <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-08/trump-to-sign-steel-tariff-order-with-wiggle-room-for-allies">slapped</a> a 25 percent tariff on the metal, while also putting a 10 percent duty on foreign aluminum. After <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/01/business/trump-tariffs.html">initially suggesting</a> there’d be no exceptions, Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/us/politics/trump-tariff-announcement.html">promised</a> to be “very flexible” and has exempted most U.S. allies, including Mexico, Canada, the European Union and South Korea. This suggests that China is the primary target of the steel tariffs, buttressed by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/trumps-60-billion-in-china-tariffs-will-create-more-problems-than-they-solve-93897">other punitive measures</a> the U.S. has taken against its biggest trading partner.</p>
<p>While Trump cited “national security” as the impetus for the tariffs, he’s been vowing since the campaign <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/there-is-a-huge-hole-in-trumps-promise-to-bring-back-us-manufacturing-jobs-2017-3">to use trade policy to restore jobs</a> to the American manufacturing sector, which has suffered in recent decades. The <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2235256">steel sector</a>, for example, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=WpuZ0bpoCVoC&lpg=PP1&dq=striking%20steel&pg=PA121#v=onepage&q=steel%20employment&f=false">supported as many as 650,000 American workers in the 1950s</a>, yet now employs only <a href="http://www.steel.org/%7E/media/Files/AISI/Reports/2017-AISI-Profile-Book.pdf">about 140,000</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=B744wv0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">My research</a> focuses on the politics of trade and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=B744wv0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">what prompts political leaders</a> to impose restrictions like tariffs. The last time a president slapped tariffs on steel offers an illuminating lesson – and cautionary tale – for Trump’s new policy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209614/original/file-20180308-30972-3skr53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/209614/original/file-20180308-30972-3skr53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209614/original/file-20180308-30972-3skr53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209614/original/file-20180308-30972-3skr53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209614/original/file-20180308-30972-3skr53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209614/original/file-20180308-30972-3skr53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/209614/original/file-20180308-30972-3skr53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=486&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">President Trump holds up a proclamation on steel imports on March 8.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Susan Walsh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The Bush steel tariffs</h2>
<p>In early 2002, then-President George W. Bush <a href="http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/general/2002/03/05/bush-steel.htm">imposed steel tariffs</a> of up to 30 percent on imports of steel in an effort to shore up domestic producers against low-cost imports. </p>
<p>These tariffs were controversial both at home and abroad because, even as they helped steelmakers, they squeezed steel users, such as the auto industry.</p>
<p>They were also seen as hypocritical at a time when the Republican administration was trying to encourage other countries to liberalize trade policies – and reduce their tariffs – through the <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dda_e.htm">Doha Round of World Trade Organization</a> talks that were happening at the time. </p>
<p><iframe id="uSAO1" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/uSAO1/5/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<h2>Transfer of wealth</h2>
<p>So what happens when a country imposes tariffs? </p>
<p>The <a href="http://internationalecon.com/Trade/Tch90/T90-11.php">general economic view</a> of trade protection says that tariffs transfer money from a good’s consumers to its producers. </p>
<p>Let’s say a country slaps a 20 percent tariff on imports of beef. The country’s beef producers will be much better off because now imported meat is as much as 20 percent more expensive, meaning domestic companies will be able to sell more rib-eyes and raise their prices. That’s bad news for restaurants and fans of steaks and hamburgers, who will pay those higher prices.</p>
<p>This transfer is usually <a href="http://internationalecon.com/Trade/Tch90/T90-11.php">economically inefficient</a> because the benefits that domestic producers receive from a tariff will generally be less than the costs to domestic consumers. </p>
<p>One of the reasons they still happen despite this inefficiency is that consumers are typically a very large and dispersed group. While they collectively may lose a great deal of money in higher costs from a tariff, the cost to any one individual may not be that great. Therefore, consumers are often <a href="http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674537514">less motivated in opposing trade protection</a> than a relatively narrower and more unified group of producers who have a lot to gain.</p>
<h2>The special case of steel</h2>
<p>Steel tariffs, however, don’t follow this pattern. </p>
<p>That’s because far from being broadly dispersed, steel consumers <a href="http://www.steel.org/%7E/media/Files/AISI/Reports/2017-AISI-Profile-Book.pdf">are heavily concentrated</a> in the <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/lobbying.php?ind=C">construction</a> and <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/indusclient.php?id=M02">automotive</a> industries – which have very powerful political lobbies of their own. As a result, steel consumers are more likely to balk at the higher prices that would result from tariffs. </p>
<p>In 2002, it was pushback from these industries that helped persuade the National Association of Manufacturers to <a href="https://piie.com/sites/default/files/publications/pb/pb03-1.pdf">come out against the tariffs</a>. Eventually the World Trade Organization ruled the policy illegal because it violated U.S. trade commitments, which led to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/dec/04/usa.wto1">threat of a trade war</a> with the European Union.</p>
<p>The Bush administration <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/dec/04/usa.wto">withdrew the tariffs</a> in December 2003, about 21 months after they were imposed, but not without a cost. The Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition found that 200,000 workers in U.S. manufacturing <a href="http://www.tradepartnership.com/pdf_files/2002jobstudy.pdf">lost their jobs</a> as a result of the tariffs. For comparison, the entire U.S. steel industry employed 197,000 at the time. </p>
<h2>The politics of trade</h2>
<p>So why is Trump doing this? </p>
<p>As <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-0343.2011.00387.x/full">my research shows</a>, there are always <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147596714000286">competing voices lobbying for and against trade protection</a>, and those preferences alone aren’t enough to push a protective measure into law. That depends on how effective an interest group is in winning the support of powerful political patrons. </p>
<p>The steel industry has had several things working in its favor. Trump <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/21/politics/donald-trump-tariffs/index.html">has said repeatedly</a> that he wants to protect American manufacturing squeezed by foreign competition, and U.S. steel certainly fits that profile. But more importantly, steel production is concentrated in old industrial states in the Midwest, such as Pennsylvania and Ohio. These states have been swing states in recent presidential elections, which gives industries with workers in those regions outsized influence. </p>
<p>The U.S. sugar industry, <a href="http://www.heritage.org/trade/report/us-trade-policy-gouges-american-sugar-consumers">which is very heavily protected</a>, benefits in a similar way by being heavily concentrated in Florida, a <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/09/politics/election-2016-donald-trump-hillary-clinton-florida/index.html">frequent swing state</a>.</p>
<p>Still, despite steel’s <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/2235256">political advantages</a>, tariffs are still a large gamble for Trump. While the impact of steel tariffs on other domestic manufacturers such as construction and automotive manufacturing is likely to be bad, the bigger concern is that they set off a <a href="https://theconversation.com/trade-wars-are-good-3-past-conflicts-tell-a-very-different-story-92801">trade war</a>. </p>
<p>That would have negative consequences for American consumers and producers alike, as well as for the U.S. economy.</p>
<p><em>This article was updated on April 4 in incorporate the latest news on Trump’s tariffs.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/92904/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Hauk has previously received funding from the Center for International Business Education and Research, which receives funding from the U.S. Department of Education</span></em></p>President Trump slapped steep tariffs on steel imports, echoing protectionist measures taken by Bush in 2002.William Hauk, Associate Professor of Economics, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.