Experts: energy conservation, carbon emission reduction key task for China's steel industry

Despite progress achieved, China's steel industry still faces major challenges such as weak market demand, strict requirements on pollutant emission control, and the bottlenecks in pressing ahead energy consumption reduction and energy conservation, according to a key industry expert.

He Wenbo, executive chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association, made the remarks during a keynote speech at an industry forum held on Saturday in Beijing by the China Metallurgical Industry Planning and Research Institute.

Energy conservation and carbon emission reduction are a key task for China's steel industry to transform and upgrade, and is at the core place of steel industry's green development, he said, adding the pressure from weak market demand will promote coordination in the development and applications of technologies in the steel industry, to turn crisis into opportunities.

He urged steel enterprises to optimize technologies and engineering progress. He also suggested that the government should further enhance policy measures to encourage the survival of the fittest.

Fan Tiejun, president of the institute, suggested that steel enterprises should seek opportunities arising from the industry's layout optimization and adjustment, production capacity replacement and upgrades, and relocation of capacity for environmental protection, etc., to eliminate outdated capacity and upgrade equipment for reducing pollution and carbon emissions from the root.