The steel industry established in Mexico has a strong bargaining chip on the issue of green steel because currently 95 percent of production is through electric arc furnaces (EAF) which represents the lowest level of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere compared to the United States, Latin America and Europe, said the general director of Canacero.
"Mexico already has 95 percent of steel production by electric arc furnaces, this is very valuable as a country (...) The United States does not have it, no country in Latin America has it, Europe does not have it. We have very low emission levels," said the general director of Canacero Salvador Quesada in a private meeting with members of the National Confederation of Steel Distributors (Conadiac).
Steel production is one of the industrial activities that emits the most CO2 into the atmosphere. The global average in 2020 was 1.89 tons of CO2 per ton of steel.
According to Quesada, American steel mills emit 1.9 tons, Chinese steel mills emit 2.7 tons, and Mexico emits 1.6 tons.
For Quesada, “In Mexico we are below Europe due to this integration of 95 percent of steel production from scrap. It is a competitive advantage of Mexico that we have to exploit.”
He said that Mexico recently stood out as an example at a meeting of OECD member countries.