Media Event: The future of green steel in South Africa

Given the current difficulties facing domestic steel and ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA), it’s an opportune moment to discuss the implications of their decarbonisation plan and the move towards green steel. A media event will be hosted on Tuesday 22 October 2024 at the Holiday Inn Johannesburg Sunnyside Park in Parktown to launch a Policy Brief which critically assesses AMSA’s Decarbonisation Roadmap.

A loose civil society network Hydrogen Watch (H2Watch) asked an independent energy expert Hilton Trollip to provide a non-technical commentary on AMSA’s Decarbonisation Roadmap that is suitable for frontline communities and the NGOs they work with to understand and engage with the plans. 

Background: AMSA’s Decarbonisation Roadmap

In January 2023, AMSA published their Decarbonisation Roadmap plans which outlined the ambitious goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 from its Vanderbijlpark, Saldanha and Newcastle plants and to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. It outlines key initiatives such as the installation of an electric arc furnace by 2027, upgrading the Saldanha plant to use green hydrogen and integrating renewable energy into its operations. However, concerns remain over the costs, the pace of transition and the potential social and economic impacts on communities located near AMSA’s steel production plants.

The Vaal Environmental Justice Alliance (VEJA) and Centre for Environmental Rights (CER) have long called for the reduction of emissions from AMSA’s plants. They argue that emissions badly affect the health of nearby communities and that greenhouse gases from how AMSA presently produces steel contributes to global warming and climate change.

“VEJA has been hosting community dialogues in Vaal communities about the Policy Brief and AMSA’s decarbonisation plan on green steel,” says VEJA Programmes Coordinator, Mduduzi Tshabalala. “Out of these discussions came the 'hopes and fears' around the decarbonisation plan with key issues being jobs and the new skills that are required, and the safety guarantees as water is one of the key natural resources as a basic need, and that is at stake. VEJA has been advocating for compliance with the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) within the space of Water Users Licenses and Atmospheric Emissions Licenses as AMSA is one the biggest listed industries and VEJA will continue to monitor them.”

Media event in Parktown Johannesburg

The event will be hosted at Holiday Inn Johannesburg Sunnyside Park in Parktown and will start promptly at 11am. Speakers include Hilton Trollip, the policy brief author and independent consultant in energy research; Patrick Bond, Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of Johannesburg; Jerry Dungu, AMSA Principal Specialist: Market and Product Development ; and a representative from VEJA. The event will end at 1:30pm with a light lunch and an opportunity for more informal discussions with attendees.

This event is supported by Heinrich Böll Foundation (HBF). The policy brief reflects the opinion of the independent expert, Hilton Trollip, and not the views of H2Watch members or HBF.

For more information on the event, please contact:

Nick Hamer, Project Co-ordinator

+27 84 722 3458