In a remarkable disclosure, environmental watchdog Greenpeace East Asia has issued an urgent warning about the automotive industry's concerning silence on the subject of steel emissions. A recent report reveals that automakers' failure to address the carbon footprint of their steel supply chains is pushing our planet perilously close to surpassing the critical 1.5°C heating threshold. Shockingly, the global production of steel for automakers is estimated to contribute a staggering 573 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, equivalent to the entire carbon output of Australia.

Beneath the surface of the automotive landscape lies an inconvenient truth: automakers are leading us towards a climate catastrophe by ignoring the carbon impact of their steel consumption. Renowned companies like Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Toyota have shockingly omitted any disclosure of their steel emissions. Greenpeace East Asia's Senior Analyst, Wenjie Liu, emphatically emphasizes the urgent need for automakers to not only reduce their steel consumption but also spearhead the transition toward zero-carbon steelmaking.

The report's findings present a disheartening picture. In 2022 alone, the top 16 automakers worldwide consumed a minimum of 39 million tonnes of steel, resulting in an estimated 74 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Among these manufacturers, Toyota, the largest consumer of steel, devoured approximately 6.3 million tonnes, leading to at least 12 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Volkswagen and Hyundai-Kia followed closely, utilizing 5.2 million and 4.2 million tonnes of steel, respectively.

However, the responsibility does not rest solely on the automakers; they have failed to take adequate measures to decarbonize their steel supply chains. Astonishingly, none of the major automakers have established specific targets to reduce steel consumption and associated emissions. Moreover, not a single one of the 16 automakers has disclosed the emissions linked to steel production.

While collaborative efforts between automakers and steelmakers in Europe have fostered low-carbon steel initiatives, these ventures lack clear pathways for the adoption of renewable energy. Unfortunately, the disclosure of large-scale steel decarbonization projects remains non-existent, with the scale of some initiatives undisclosed.

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