CoAct Database

The Steel Standards Principles

Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala welcomed the endorsement by standard setting bodies, international organizations, steel producers and industry associations of a set of principles aimed at aligning how greenhouse gas emissions are measured in the steel sector. This novel partnership was announced at a Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum roundtable on the first day of the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The Steel Standards Principles, developed by standard setting bodies, international organizations, steel producers and industry associations, recognize that the iron and steel sector accounts for approximately 8% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions and that these emissions will need to be reduced by at least 90% for the sector to play a credible role in achieving climate targets.

The Principles call for establishing common methodologies on measuring greenhouse gas emissions within the iron and steel sector in order to accelerate the transition to near-zero emissions. Improving the transparency, interoperability and mutual recognition of such methodologies can promote investment in, and adoption of, innovative near-zero emission technologies and products, while easing trade frictions that arise from divergent and incompatible measurement standards.

GST linkages