ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY HEADLINESEnvironment and Sustainability
AISI Comments on EPA’s GHG Emissions Ruling
Oct. 9, 2009 The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) has issued a comment in its newsletter about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rule requiring mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions monitoring under the Clean Air Act announced last week:
“We need to come up with a solution to climate change that keeps the manufacturing sector and valuable manufacturing jobs here in America. Because of our long-standing commitment to making the highest-quality steel with the lightest carbon footprint, America’s steel industry will be part of the solution to the climate challenge.”
AISI noted that as far as limiting carbon emissions, America is the best place to make steel compared to other parts of the world. “Here in the U.S., we lead other manufacturing sectors in reducing emissions (reducing our energy intensity per ton of steel by 33% since 1990). According to the EPA’s own 2008 sector strategies report, steel led the way among eight industrial sectors examined,” the Institute commented.
It also stated that the Clean Air Act is not the appropriate vehicle for regulating CO2. “A legislative solution is the correct avenue for addressing this issue, as Administrator Jackson herself has acknowledged. Any legislative solution needs to address the huge increase in costs that energy-intensive industries will face, the need for allowances for direct and indirect emissions, and a border adjustment mechanism,” said AISI.
AISI cites a report released Oct. 1 by the Economic Policy Institute, which stated that more than 4 million jobs could be at risk if U.S. climate-change legislation does not include a tariff on goods imported from countries that do not adopt similar emissions standards.
“This is a complex issue that requires hard work to get it right because our nation has so much at stake,” AISI concluded.
AISI serves as the voice of the North American steel industry in the public policy arena and advances the case for steel in the marketplace as the material of choice. AISI plays a lead role in the development and application of new steels and steelmaking technology. The Institute comprises 24 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers, and 138 associate and affiliate members who are suppliers to or customers of the steel industry.