Environment and Energy
USITC continues fact-finding investigation on GHG emissions
Written by Becca Moczygemba
December 7, 2023
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) held a hearing on Dec. 7 with testimonies from members of the domestic steel industry. The USITC is leading a fact-finding investigation on US greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.
American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) president and CEO Kevin Dempsey presented at the hearing.
“AISI welcomes this fact-finding investigation on greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions intensities of the steel and aluminum industries in the United States,” Dempsey said in a statement to SMU.
“We believe that the data collected through this investigation will be critical to developing effective trade policy measures that take the GHG emissions-intensity of imported and domestic products into account,” he added.
Investigating emissions
A letter sent by US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai on June 5 requesting a Section 332 investigation initiated the investigation.
Recall there are ongoing negotiations between the US and EU. The two parties seek a global arrangement for carbon emissions from the global steel and aluminum industries.
Part of the fact-finding investigation includes a survey issued by the USITC. The USITC will send questionnaires to steel and aluminum producing companies in the US. The commission will collect data on the companies’ production of the goods and GHG emissions emitted.
Per the USITC website, the report will include the GHG emissions-intensity estimates of steel and aluminum produced in the US. The report is broken down by product category and production stage from 2022. Data on Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions defined as:
- Scope 1: Direct emissions from the facility’s owned or controlled sources.
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions from the generation of the facility’s purchased energy, including electricity, steam, heat, or cooling.
- Certain scope 3 emissions: Emissions associated with material and resource inputs for the production of steel and aluminum.
- A description of the methodologies used to collect and analyze relevant information and to analyze product-specific GHG emissions intensities for the range of steel and aluminum products made in the US.
Upon completion of the investigation, the USITC will submit its report to the USTR by Jan. 28, 2025.
Becca Moczygemba
Read more from Becca MoczygembaLatest in Environment and Energy
SMU Spotlight: CRU’s Paul Butterworth talks EAFs, CBAM, and decarbonization
Last month I traveled to Sweden to the CRU Steel Decarbonisation Summit in Stockholm. I wanted to see if the European take on decarbonization was broadly different from what we are talking about here in the US.
SSAB OK’d for $139M from European Commission for decarb
Sweden’s SSAB has been awarded €128 million by the European Commission for the steelmaker’s efforts at decarbonization.
GSCC introduces label for new emissions target
The Global Steel Climate Council (GSCC) has taken a step forward in standardizing the decarbonization process with the publishing of its labeling for a certified science-based emissions target.
DOE set to measure GHG intensity of industrial products, including steel
The US Department of Energy (DOE) is launching a pilot project to measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) intensity of certain energy-intensive industrial products, including steel.
Final thoughts
Whether it’s the twists and turns of the presidential election, the U.S. Steel deal, or just what’s happening with the movement of steel pricing, there has been no shortage of stories for us to cover.