ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, ENVIRONMENT HAMILTON, STEELWATCH

Toronto | Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – Environmental groups celebrate ArcelorMittal Dofasco shutting down one of its two remaining coke plants, bringing improved air quality and employment guarantees with it. But we remain unconvinced this means ArcelorMittal Dofasco is serious about phasing out coal any time soon. 

ArcelorMittal Dofasco is shuttering its No. 3 coke plant, but despite reducing their capacity to process coal, this closure came without any concrete commitments to phase out coal at Canada’s largest steel facility. This was ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s moment to unveil their decarbonization plans and demonstrate they are serious about a 2030 coal phase out. They failed to do so.

Shutting down this aging coke plant is not itself a step to phase out coal use or towards decarbonization. ArcelorMittal Dofasco will simply buy coke from other producers and continue with the distinction as Ontario’s single largest source of carbon emissions.

Real progress on decarbonization will require ArcelorMittal Dofasco to replace its coal reliant blast-furnaces with modern electric arc furnaces (EAF) and produce its iron through direct reduction (DRI) processes powered by clean energy. Federal and provincial governments have put up 950 million to support this transition. It is time for ArcelorMittal Dofasco to hold up their end of the bargain.

Keith Brooks, Programs Director, Environmental Defence:

“The future of steelmaking is coal-free. It’s also a future that keeps well-paying steel jobs in Hamilton over the longer term. We’re encouraged that all affected workers will be retained and reassigned to new roles. Though far from what’s needed to modernize Dofasco for the future of steelmaking, this decision demonstrates that it’s possible to keep jobs while cutting coal.”

Canada has the rich iron reserves, abundant clean energy and skilled workers to produce some of the world’s cleanest steel. We should be producing that steel in Hamilton. However, for Canada to realize its clean steel advantage, we need ArcelorMittal Dofasco – Canada’s largest steel producer – to transition off of coal.”

Evan Ubene, Clean Steel Campaign Coordinator, Environment Hamilton:

“It’s good that Dofasco will not be sinking millions of dollars into refurbishing an outdated coke plant, but more action is necessary to bring clean steel to Hamilton. A true clean steel strategy requires investments to replace fossil-fuel-dependent steelmaking with Electric Arc Furnaces complemented by clean-energy-powered Direct Reduced Iron facilities. This is the only way to guarantee a future of good, clean jobs for Canada’s steel industry.

Dofasco has operated one Electric Arc Furnace at its Hamilton plant since 1996, which produces about one-third of the plant’s total output. They have the technical knowledge to make the transition – what’s needed is the leadership to drive decarbonization investments forward ”

Pascal Husting, Associate, SteelWatch:

“This decision exposes a deeper problem. ArcelorMittal is making incremental, economically driven changes while avoiding the larger investment decisions needed to move away from coal. The company’s own messaging makes that clear. As a Dofasco representative put it: ‘our long-term decarbonization ambitions and intentions remain.’ This is not a strategy — it’s an admission of delay. For the world’s third-largest steelmaker, it points to a failure to lead the transition.

And it is not just a Canadian story. ArcelorMittal scored a dismal 1.3 points out of 25 in the “Scaling green” category in the recently published SteelWatch’s Corporate Scorecard, ranking 18 steelmakers across the globe — evidence that this pattern of delay extends across its global operations.”

Background

• On April 9th, ArcelorMittal Dofasco announced they will be closing their No. 3 coke plant and reassigning the facilities 50 employees to new roles at the steel mill
• ArcelorMittal Dofasco is Ontario’s single largest source of industrial greenhouse gas emissions, releasing 4.16 megatonnes of carbon pollution in 2023. It is also Hamilton’s largest source of industrial pollution, releasing known carcinogens — benzene and benzo[a]pyrene  — at levels far exceeding provincial guidelines
• In 2022, ArcelorMittal Dofasco committed to phase out their coal-based steelmaking facilities and replace them with a Direct Reduction Iron (DRI) furnace as well as a new Electric Arc Furnaces (EAF) 
• Construction was planned to begin in January 2023 and end in 2026, with $900 million in government support, including $500 million coming from the Ontario government and $400 million more from the federal government
• Federal officials have stated that project timelines remain the same, but that ArcelorMittal Dofasco now plans to source reduced iron from their DRI furnace in Contrecoeur, Quebec rather than building a new facility in Hamilton
• ArcelorMittal Dofasco has not provided the public with any substantive updates on its decarbonization project since construction was supposed to begin, despite continued calls from local community stakeholders

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

Tamara Latinovic, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca