At the Steel Success Strategies Europe Conference organized in Paris by Metal Bulletin and World Steel Dynamics (WSD), climate change was again a hot topic for discussion among steel industry leaders and experts.
WSD's managing partner Peter Marcus addressed the issue directly by emphasizing that steelmakers would have to learn to fight and limit CO2 emissions since the industry is now thinking green, as also underlined by the International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI).
Corus CEO Philippe Varin said that climate change was one of the four challenges lying ahead of the steel industry, along with the raw materials situation, the supply and demand balance in the European market, and the lack of new talent coming to the industry.
The environmental regulations and the additional costs they entail were also touched upon by Erich Heine, executive board member of ThyssenKrupp Steel. Heine stressed that climate control would have to be given serious consideration by all the steel industry, not only in Europe but throughout the world as well.
The overall consensus was that all steelmakers will have to play a role and undertake certain costs in the future to limit CO2 emmisions and fight climate change.