Steel holds up our cities. It also heats the planet. 

Steel makes up around 7-9% of global CO₂ emissions. Around 70% of the world’s steel is still made in coal-fired blast furnaces, according to World Steel.  

Many of these furnaces are reaching the end of their life. Steelmakers now face a choice: reline them and keep burning coal for another 15 to 20 years, or switch to cleaner production. 

The decisions made in the next few years will shape steel emissions until 2050. As COP31 opens, here are five reasons to stop relining now. 

1. Climate: The lasting carbon cost hidden in everyday steel 

Blast furnaces are long-lived industrial assets. Decisions to extend their operating lives can therefore lock in emissions for decades. 

According to Global Energy Monitor, approximately 80 million tonnes per year of existing blast furnace capacity is planned for or undergoing relining - a major refurbishment that can extend coal-based production for another 15-20 years. 

Globally, a 2026 study published in Nature Climate Change estimated that existing and planned coal-based steel plants could lock in up to 58 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions by 2070 if planned projects go ahead and blast furnaces are relined.  

In South Korea, Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC)’s 2024 study estimated that extending the operating life of POSCO’s Gwangyang No. 2 blast furnace by another 15 years through full relining could result in approximately 137 million tonnes of cumulative CO₂ emissions over that period. 

2. Health: What does coal-based steelmaking mean for the air we breathe? 

Decarbonizing steel is an opportunity to protect lives and build healthier communities. 

Integrated coal-based steel plants release pollutants associated with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, exposing surrounding communities to risks beyond climate change.  

In the U.S., a 2026 report from Industrious Labs estimated that air pollution from just 17 coal-based steel and coke facilities could contribute to up to 892 premature deaths annually.  

The health benefits of reducing pollutions are also evident. After Pennsylvania’s Shenango coke plant closed in 2016, a 2023 NYU study found that nearby sulfur dioxide pollution fell by 90%, while cardiovascular emergency department visits declined by 42%. 

"From missed school and work days to increased hospital visits, communities closest to blast furnaces pay the highest price for our continued reliance on coal. But it doesn't have to be that way."

Hilary Lewis, Steel Director, Industrious Labs 

3. Justice: Young people and communities are standing up to steelmakers 

From South Korea to Italy, young people and local communities are taking legal action over the environmental impacts of coal-based steelmaking. 

In February 2025, ten young people in South Korea filed a lawsuit challenging POSCO’s plans to extend the life of its Gwangyang blast furnace. The argument was clear: prolonging coal-based steel production threatened their constitutional rights to a healthy environment and future. 

In Italy, a legal challenge by residents over toxic air pollution and health risks from blast furnace-based steelmaking at the ILVA plant in Taranto led the Supreme Court in October 2026 to uphold an order to shut down its blast furnaces and related operations unless asbestos was removed and harmful particulate emissions brought within safe limits. 

4. Investment: Investing in coal today, paying the price for decades 

The future of steel is also being shaped by where money flows today.  

Investment decisions can either lock the industry into decades of coal-based production or accelerate the transition to cleaner technologies, such as hydrogen-based steelmaking. 

SFOC’s 2026 research on investor engagement called on investors to deepen their scrutiny of steelmakers, looking beyond climate targets to assess how steelmakers spend their money - whether on extending existing coal-based facilities or investing in cleaner alternatives. 

This question is already being raised with major banks. In August 2025, SFOC and BankTrack coordinated a joint letter from 21 civil society organizations to 17 major international banks, urging them to stop financing POSCO’s coal-based blast furnace relining projects. According to  BankTrack’s 2025 Annual Report, six responded. But whether those responses will lead to changes in financing decisions remains unclear. 

“Put simply, each dollar invested in a blast furnace is a dollar not going toward a decarbonized steel industry.”

Astrid Grigsby-Schulte, Project Manager, Iron & Steel, Global Energy Monitor 

5. Regulation: Is coal-based steel putting national competitiveness at risk? 

Steel is a key part of national economies, supporting industries like automative manufacturing and shipbuilding. But as climate-related rules tighten, continued reliance on coal-based steelmaking could put national competitiveness at risk. 

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), for example, puts a carbon price on imported steel, with plans to extend its scope to selected downstream products. A 2026 study published in Nature Climate Change found that high-emission Indian steelmakers saw around 5% lower monthly export volumes and 9% lower export revenues to the EU relative to cleaner producers during the CBAM reporting phase.  

South Korea faces similar pressures. A 2026 study from the New Climate Institute projected that CBAM-related losses in steel export revenues could rise from around USD 20 million in 2026 to more than USD 1 billion by 2034.  

“Our research indicates that accelerating the development of low-carbon steel can strengthen export competitiveness and improve the long-term resilience of steel producers in the global low-carbon transition.”

Norah Zhang, Climate Policy Analyst, NewClimate Institute

No one can do this alone 

Governments set the rules. Steelmakers build the plants. Banks provide the capital. Buyers create the demand. Workers and communities must have a say in a fair transition. 

Partnerships are already working. In Namibia, the Oshivela/HyIron project, opened in 2025 with German support, makes iron with green hydrogen. UNIDO’s Global Matchmaking Platform links developing economies with technical and financial partners. In China, five automakers and nine steelmakers, signed a joint declaration in 2026 to align low-carbon steel standards and help build demand for cleaner steel. 

But these efforts are too small and too slow. The IEA’s Breakthrough Agenda Report 2026 names the barriers: fragmented standards, weak demand, scarce finance and missing infrastructure. Cooperation must now turn into investment, technology, and real demand for clean steel. 

Turning concerns into collective action at COP31  

Coal-based steel is a climate, health, justice, and financial risk. Every new blast furnace and major relining decision risks locking in coal-based production for decades, when investment needs to shift toward a genuine steel transition. 

At COP31, we call on governments, steelmakers, financial institutions, steel buyers, workers, researchers, and civil society to work toward stopping further investment that prolongs coal-based steelmaking and accelerate a credible transition away from blast furnaces. That means aligning policy, finance, corporate investment, and market demand around stopping further blast furnace relining while creating the conditions for genuinely green steel to scale.  

The priorities are clear: 

- No further relining that locks in decades of coal-based steelmaking. 
- Shift investment toward genuinely green steel and the infrastructure needed to produce it. 
- Put workers and communities at the center of the transition. 

Let’s end coal-based steel together.