The world would look very different without steel. No railways, bridges, bikes or cars. No washing machines or fridges.

Most advanced medical equipment and mechanical tools would be almost impossible to create. Steel is essential for the circular economy, and yet some policymakers and NGOs continue to see it as a problem, and not a solution.

The European Steel Association (EUROFER), which represents almost all of the steel industry in Europe, is committed to changing this, and is calling for the EU’s support to put 60 major low-carbon projects in place across the continent by 2030.

“Let’s go back to basics: steel is innately circular, 100 per cent reusable, endlessly. It is the most recycled material in the world with 950 million tonnes of CO2 saved every year. In the EU we have an estimated recycling rate of 88 per cent,” says Axel Eggert, EUROFER’s director general.

Cutting-edge steel products are constantly in development. “There are more than 3,500 types of steel, and over 75 per cent – lighter, better-performing and greener – have been developed in the last 20 years. This means that if the Eiffel Tower were to be built today, we would only need two thirds of the steel used at the time,” says Eggert.

The proposed projects would cut carbon emissions by more than 80 million tonnes over the next eight years. This equates to more than a third of today’s emissions and is a 55 per cent cut compared to 1990 levels. Carbon neutrality is planned by 2050.