Achieving a Carbon Neutral Society without Industry Contraction in the Five Major Steel Producing Countries

This study analyzed the direct and indirect CO 2 emissions of the energy-intensive basic metals industry, in particular steels, using the distributions of various energy sources, including coal/peat, oil, and electricity, from an input–output table. An analysis of five major steel producing countries indicated that direct CO 2 emissions increased 1.4-fold and that indirect CO 2 emissions increased by more than two-fold between 1995 and 2010. The elasticity of the CO 2 emissions and the total energy costs indicated that Korea, Japan, and Germany are sensitive to energy sources from the electric power industry, whereas China and the US are more sensitive to energy sources pertaining to the coal and oil industry. Using the available forest area and photosynthesis, the potential neutralization ability of CO 2 was estimated using the eco-CO 2 index. The US yielded the highest CO 2 neutralization ability of 66.1%, whereas Korea yielded a CO 2 neutralization ability of 15%. Future trends of the 2030 eco-CO 2 index revealed China and Korea will rapidly lose their neutralization ability resulting in a net negative neutralization ability if left unabated. The significant decline in the eco-CO 2 index for the basic metals industry may be inhibited by utilizing bamboo wood charcoal for pulverized coal injection (PCI) in the steelmaking process.