SHANGHAI, Feb 11 (SMM) - On February 7, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly issued the Guiding Opinions on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Iron and Steel Industry (hereinafter referred to as the “Opinion”). Compared with the previously released draft for comments, many specific indicators are deleted from the Opinion, but the outline is largely unchanged.

In the Opinion, the carbon peaking time of iron and steel industry has been postponed from 2025 to 2030, and the expression that "striving to be the first industry to achieve carbon emissions peaking" has been deleted. The guidance is more realistic and aims that achieving carbon emission reduction in an orderly manner, avoiding aggressive and blind actions.

In addition, the proposal that “the total pollutant emissions will be reduced by more than 20%, and total energy consumption and intensity will be reduced by more than 5%” in the draft for comments has been revised into “differentiated control policies based on carbon emissions, pollutant emissions, total energy consumption, production capacity utilization rate, etc.”

The draft for comments includes the following statement: "Striving to increase the industrial concentration of the top 5 iron and steel enterprises to 40%, and that of the top 10 enterprises to 60%; to raise the proportion of EAF steel production in the total crude steel production to more than 15%, or 20% in the best case; to lift the use ratio of steel scrap to 30%". In the official Opinion, the paragraph has been revised to “it is encouraged to raise the proportion of EAF steel production in the crude steel production to 15%".