Energy and Climate Change
time2017/02/18
The production of steel is inherently energy intensive, and the industry consumes substantial amounts of electricity, natural gas, and coal and coke to make its products. The availability and reliability of supplies of these energy sources is essential to the industry’s international competitiveness, especially as steelmakers in competitor nations receive subsidized energy. The domestic steel industry has made substantial gains in reducing its energy usage, as well as its environmental footprint, over the last two decades, reducing its energy intensity by 32 percent since 1990 and reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 37 percent over the same time period. Additionally, steel products are essential for the production, distribution, transmission, and storage of all types of energy, including natural gas, oil, electricity, and renewables.