The global steel industry sits at the center of modern economic life and industrial development. Steel is essential to the construction of buildings, transportation systems, household products, renewable energy infrastructure, and automobiles. Every year, the world produces roughly 2 billion tons of raw steel, making it one of the most widely used industrial materials on the planet. Yet this immense scale comes with significant environmental and public health costs. Traditional steelmaking continues to rely heavily on blast furnaces \u2014 facilities that release large quantities of greenhouse gases and toxic pollutants into surrounding communities. The steel and iron sector alone is responsible for approximately 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making it one of the most carbon-intensive industries in the world. In addition to contributing to climate change, steel plants emit pollutants such as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, benzene, heavy metals, and fine particulate matter, all of which are linked to respiratory disease, cancer, cardiovascular illness, and environmental degradation.<\/p>\n
In recent years, there\u2019s been a push toward \u201cgreen steel\u201d \u2014 steel produced using low-emission technologies such as electric arc furnaces or hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (DRI) using renewable energy sources. Compared to conventional coal-based steelmaking, these methods can dramatically reduce carbon emissions while also limiting harmful pollution in nearby communities. The transition is no longer theoretical. Across Europe and parts of Asia, companies and policymakers have announced major investments in cleaner steel production, and a growing number of automakers have publicly committed to purchasing low-emission steel. Academic research suggests that incorporating green steel into automobile manufacturing would add only marginal costs to vehicle production while substantially reducing life-cycle emissions.1 However, despite public announcements, policy reforms, and billions of euros in subsidies, progress remains uneven. Many major steel producers continue to rely on coal-based blast furnaces, while some planned decarbonization projects have been delayed, scaled back, or canceled altogether. The automotive industry plays a critical role in determining whether the transition to cleaner steel succeeds. Automakers are among the world\u2019s largest consumers of steel, and nearly every major manufacturer has announced goals to achieve carbon neutrality or sharply reduce emissions over the coming decades. Yet those commitments cannot be fully realized without addressing emissions embedded throughout the automotive supply chain, particularly in steel production. This report examines the relationship between major European steel producers \u2014 including ArcelorMittal, Tata Steel, and Acciaierie d\u2019Italia \u2014 and some of the world\u2019s largest automakers, including BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Stellantis, Tata Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. It explores how continued reliance on carbon-intensive steel production undermines corporate climate commitments, while also documenting the environmental and human impacts experienced by communities living in the shadow of major steel plants across Europe.<\/p>\n