SwitchON Foundation and BCC&I Successfully Organised Decarbonizing Steel: Pathways to a Low-Carbon Future

News Desk, News Nation 360 : Recently, the Environment Conservation Society (SwitchON Foundation), in partnership with the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCC&I), successfully organised a multistakeholder event titled “Decarbonizing Steel: Pathways to a Low-Carbon Future: A multistakeholder meeting to empower the secondary steel industry towards decarbonisation”. The event brought together industry leaders, policymakers, financial institutions, technical experts, and MSME steel producers to deliberate on actionable strategies for decarbonising the secondary steel sector. The reports highlighted that, as India, the world’s second-largest steel producer, expands towards a target of 300 million tonnes by 2030, it faces both pressing climate responsibilities and significant opportunities in emerging global green steel markets. The research underscored the need for collaborative action across government, industry, and civil society to enable decarbonisation, ensure competitiveness, and safeguard livelihoods. Speaking on the occasion, Anupam Ray, Senior Advisor, SwitchON Foundation, stated that Hydrogen and Carbon Capture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) - based technologies are emerging, but other options, such as renewable energy, the use of scrap, and energy efficiency, can aid in decarbonising steel immediately. They would be cost-effective as well. The event launched two major reports on low-carbon opportunities, interventions, and challenges in the steel sector of India, and brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and experts to deliberate on how the industry can transition sustainably. Participants included MSME cluster representatives from Eastern India, integrated steel producers, government agencies, industry associations, financial institutions, energy auditors, and solution providers, all interacting with each other in open discussions for mapping the financing pathways through low-cost loans, carbon credit utilisation, and linking MSMEs with financial agencies and markets. Key technological innovations were discussed, such as Best Available Technologies, green hydrogen, and other low-carbon solutions, alongside capacity-building efforts needed to address readiness gaps, link MSMEs to support schemes, and thereby build technical capabilities. This event marked a structured market creation for the demand promotion of sustainable steel and also laid a foundation for addressing policy, finance, and technology gaps in decarbonizing India's steel sector, keeping in line with its ambitious targets for climate and growth-an imperative for national progress and a just transition, with innovation, the government's progressive initiatives, and partnership with the industry.

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