Global coal-based steelmaking capacity increased significantly last year, to 380 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2022 from 350 mtpa in 2021.

GEM’s Global Steel Plant Tracker warns that the sector risks as much as $554bn (£430bn) in stranded assets as countries build out coal-based capacity while simultaneously working towards their carbon neutrality commitments.

Steel already accounts for 7 per cent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions and demand is set to rise as the material is fundamental to building the energy transition, from wind turbines to electric vehicles, and to infrastructure growth in developing economies.

New iron- and steel-making technologies, centred around using low-carbon hydrogen to produce direct reduced iron, have been developed and offer a viable solution for decarbonising primary steel.

But according to a report in April, the global pipeline of near-zero-emissions steel projects must triple within the next three years if...