The European Confederation of Iron and Steel Industries (EUROFER) has stressed the need for equal treatment of industrial sectors worldwide in relation to CO2 emissions in a statement released ahead of the 15th Conference of Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in Copenhagen on December 7-18.
In the statement, EUROFER director general Gordon Moffat said, "While we recognize the commitment of China to reduce its CO2 emissions per unit of national income by 40 to 45 percent in 2020 compared to 2005 levels, we must point out that this would still lead to an increase of its CO2 emissions by 75 to 90 percent in 2020, or by 5.5 to 6.8 billion tonnes of CO2, which is more than the total of the EU's CO2 emissions today."
Mr. Moffat went on to add, "If any significant step forward to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is to be achieved, and for reasons of fair competition, China and other emerging economies must commit to the same reductions for their industrial installations as the developed countries. Producers of globally traded industrial goods such as steel need a level playing field if carbon leakage is to be avoided and if we wish to see a real reduction in emissions worldwide."