President Biden is facing new pressure to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of the iconic manufacturer U.S. Steel, this time from environmental groups that say the tie-up would set back America’s efforts to curb climate change.
In interviews, environmental activists working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions say the merger would bring together two steel giants that are laggards on transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Researchers at Industrious Labs, a nonprofit pushing to decarbonize steel and other heavy industries, drew on both companies’ public disclosures to calculate that Nippon and U.S. Steel are relatively high emitters of heat-trapping gases from steel production.
Three U.S. Steel facilities — in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois — combine to emit more greenhouse gases in a year than a comparable number of coal-fired power plants, the researchers estimate.
Officials from Nippon and U.S. Steel say they are pursuing multiple strategies to decarbonize by 2050, including high-grade steel production in more efficient electric-powered furnaces and using hydrogen-injecting technology in blast furnaces, and that their merger will advance those efforts.
Persons:
Biden
Organizations:
Nippon, U.S . Steel, U.S, Steel
Locations:
Pennsylvania , Indiana, Illinois