Representatives of Europe’s scrap processing and electric arc furnace segments are urging the European Commission (EC) to reconsider emerging proposals for a green steel labelling methodology. They warn that current approaches risk disadvantaging recycling-based EAF production and undermining existing climate progress.
Recycling Europe – the former Euric association – EAF steelmakers including Aperam, Pittini, Sidenor, Ovako, Megasa, Duferco, Feralpi, and large scrap sellers such as Galloo and Derichebourg, have appealed to the EC in a letter.
They recommend the Commission avoid applying a single sliding-scale label across all steelmaking routes, arguing that such a system would fail to recognise the low CO2 profile of Europe’s EAF industry. The latter’s output accounts for roughly 45% of EU steel production and is already largely electrified, circular and low-emission.
Sliding-scale concepts were developed primarily for coal-based primary steelmaking. Applying the same metric to EAF production would be counterproductive and could distort competition by favouring higher-emission imports.
“We find it difficult to believe that the European Commission would pursue such an unbalanced and discriminatory policy and not realise the dire consequences it would have for half of the EU steel industry and its value chain. Nor do we believe that the Commission would overlook the political and legal challenges such a course would inevitably face,” reads the letter obtained by Kallanish.
The signatories warn that a “one-size-fits-all” label would fail to reflect the different challenges faced by the BF-BOF and EAF routes, and could lead to inconsistent policy outcomes across markets. They add that the initiatives shaping the sliding-scale methodology have so far consulted almost exclusively with primary producers, leaving the recycling segment under-represented.
The signatories warn that misaligned criteria could displace EU EAF production in favour of higher-carbon primary steel from abroad, increasing Europe’s dependence on imported raw materials and undermining decarbonisation targets.
They are calling for a more balanced approach aligned with existing carbon footprint methodologies that integrate both circularity and decarbonisation. They add they are ready to work with policymakers to ensure future frameworks support Europe’s climate ambitions while safeguarding the competitiveness of its recycling-based steel value chain.
Natalia Capra France
