New Episode of Resources Radio: “The Environmental Appeal of Green Steel, with Chris Bataille”
WASHINGTON, DC—Resources for the Future (RFF) today released a new installment of Resources Radio: “The Environmental Appeal of Green Steel, with Chris Bataille.”
In this episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Chris Bataille, an associate researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations in Paris and an expert on industrial decarbonization. Exploring how essential steel is to contemporary life, Bataille discusses the steel industry’s colossal carbon footprint and evaluates alternative modes of production. As green steel is often expensive for companies to produce, Bataille considers technologies and policy innovations that could help incentivize environmentally sustainable manufacturing processes.
Notable quotes from the podcast:
- Nearly a tenth of global greenhouse gas emissions come from steel: “Those emissions estimates [from steel production] vary somewhere between 7 and 9 percent of all the emissions that come out of the energy supply and demand system globally.” (8:43)
- Good recycling practices will improve the steel industry’s environmental impact: “The first and foremost thing is to do more, better recycling. With the recycling that we do, make sure copper doesn't get mixed into the crushed vehicles and the material coming out of buildings. The more you [improve recycling protocols], the more that iron becomes endlessly recyclable within our economy, and it means less iron ore has to be processed with greenhouse gas–intensive processes.” (9:26)
- Without incentives, green steel is prohibitively expensive for producers: "Decarbonization of heavy industry is called hard to abate for a reason ... It's about risk and innovation for companies. It can take 10 years for them to experiment with a couple of different technologies that can cost them billions. This process, unless there is an external force feeding into driving it forward, providing funding ... it's just really too expensive for a single firm to take on if there's no big profit in it." (21:47)
Resources Radio is a weekly podcast series exploring timely environmental, energy, and natural resources topics. Episodes can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Stitcher.
Resources for the Future (RFF) is an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC. Its mission is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement. RFF is committed to being the most widely trusted source of research insights and policy solutions leading to a healthy environment and a thriving economy.
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed here are those of the individual authors and may differ from those of other RFF experts, its officers, or its directors. RFF does not take positions on specific legislative proposals.
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