Green steel opportunities fall short of investor demand - report
MELBOURNE, July 19 (Reuters) -Investors have a stronger appetite for opportunities in green steel than are supported by policymakers, steel-producers and their raw materials suppliers, according to an investor advisory report on Friday.
The report by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) found that investors are likely to openly support more aggressive measures to speed up decarbonisation of the steel sector that accounts for around 8% of all global carbon dioxide (C02) emissions.
The report surveyed 500 portfolio managers and other investors from institutions with holdings in steelmaking, iron ore and/or metallurgical coal mining based in 34 countries.
"Investors are willing to back greater ambition on steel sector decarbonisation – if the right frameworks are in place," ACCR said.
The study found strong investment support for 'green iron corridors' where countries that can produce iron from renewable energy export to those that can produce steel, but have limited access to renewable energy.
That sets up countries like Australia and Brazil, which have an abundance of renwable energy options, to become major green iron exporters to those countries like Japan, it said.
Australia accounts for more than half of the world's seaborne iron ore supply but processes to turn its ore into steel without coal has not been proven at a commercial scale.
Mining giants BHP BHP.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX are already jointly investigating the development of the country's first green ironmaking pilot plant, potentially starting in 2027, with possible commercial production in the 2030s.
The report also found that more than two thirds of respondents foresaw growing risk in coking coal as steelmaking transitions away from the fossil fuel over the next decade.
Nearly half of investors viewed reputational risk associated with the sector as surpassing any financial benefits.
Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Michael Perry
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