India first country in world to release 'green steel' taxonomy

*5-star rating for steel with emission intensity lower than 1.6 t CO2e/tfs

*Scope of emissions include 1, 2 & 3 up till finished steel production

India earned the rare distinction of emerging as the first and, till now, only country in the world to have come up with a strict definition of 'green steel', which is supposed to go a long way in streamlining steel industry decarbonisation measures and creating the ideal ecosystem for generation of demand for low-emissions steel.

H.D. Kumaraswamy, Minister of Steel & Heavy Industries, unveiled the 'Taxonomy of Green Steel' for India during an event held in New Delhi on 12 December, 2024 in the presence of Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma, Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries, officers of the Steel Ministry, representatives from other concerned Ministries, Central PSUs, and steel industry stakeholders.

Green steel taxonomy

Green steel shall be defined in terms of percentage greenness of the steel, which is produced from the steel plant with CO2 equivalent emission intensity less than 2.2 tonnes of CO2e per tonne of finished steel (tfs). The greenness of the steel shall be expressed as a percentage, based on how much the steel plant's emission intensity is lower compared to the 2.2 t CO2e/tfs threshold.

Based on the greenness, the steel shall be rated as follows:

*5-star green-rated steel: Steel with emission intensity lower than 1.6 t CO2e/tfs.

*Four-star green-rated steel: Steel with emission intensity between 1.6 and 2.0 t-CO2e/tfs.

*Three-star green-rated steel: Steel with emission intensity between 2.0 and 2.2 t-CO2e/tfs.

Steel with emission intensity higher than 2.2 t CO2e/tfs shall not be eligible for green rating.

Emissions accounting & reporting

The threshold limit for defining the star rating of green steel shall be reviewed every three years.

The scope of emissions shall include Scope 1, Scope 2, and limited Scope 3, up to finished steel production. Scope 3 emissions shall include agglomeration (including sintering, pellet making, coke making), beneficiation, and embodied emissions in purchased raw materials and intermediary products, but shall not include upstream mining, downstream emissions and transportation emissions, both within and outside the gates of a steel plant.

The National Institute of Secondary Steel Technology (NISST) shall serve as the nodal agency for measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) as well as for issuing the greenness certificates and star ratings for the steel.