ArcelorMittal backtracks on climate while enriching shareholders – report
Luxembourg, Tuesday 6 May 2025 – ArcelorMittal, one of the world’s top three steelmakers, has retreated from its own climate commitments whilst paying out billions of dollars to shareholders, according to SteelWatch’s climate assessment report for the company, Backtracking on Climate Action. The report coincides with ArcelorMittal’s annual general meeting in Luxembourg today, which Steelwatch is attending.
The report reveals that between 2021 and 2024, ArcelorMittal spent just 800 million USD on decarbonisation, less than 2.5% of the 32.6 billion USD it generated in operating cash over the same period. In contrast, the company returned 12 billion USD to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, nearly 15 times more than it invested in decarbonisation.
Caroline Ashley, Executive Director of SteelWatch, said:
“ArcelorMittal is backtracking on climate action, admitting it is ‘increasingly unlikely’ to meet its 2030 emissions targets and delaying decarbonisation until after 2030. With profits per tonne higher than pre-COVID, and with resources and influence to shape markets, ArcelorMittal could be leading the way instead of blaming economic uncertainty for its delay. The company now routinely refers to ‘competitive decarbonisation’ and ‘economic decarbonisation’ – language that signals climate action is conditional, to be pursued only when commercially convenient. This is not climate leadership – it’s a strategic retreat.”
Now halfway through this decisive decade, ArcelorMittal has so far spent just 16% of the 5 billion USD it had budgeted to invest to meet its own 2030 emissions reduction target. In 2024, only 300 million USD was allocated to decarbonisation investment. These figures underscore a broader pattern: ArcelorMittal is rewarding shareholders with billions, but it is directing only a small fraction of its investment toward decarbonisation.
The report also highlights a series of omissions that further undermine ArcelorMittal’s climate credibility. Despite securing more than 3.5 billion USD in public subsidies, ArcelorMittal has not taken a single final investment decision on any of its five announced Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) projects in Europe and Canada. The company’s Climate Action Report 3, intended to outline its climate strategy, remains unpublished as of May 2025.
According to the report, ArcelorMittal has made progress in some areas, but it is nowhere near the scale or pace required. ArcelorMittal’s emissions intensity has fallen by only 5.4% globally since 2018, far short of its stated 2030 targets of a 25% reduction globally and 35% in Europe. Meanwhile, emissions from the company’s joint venture AM/NS India, expected to exceed 25 million tonnes of CO2 annually by 2026, are excluded from the company’s group-wide climate targets.
While other producers such as SSAB and Salzgitter are advancing 1.5C-aligned targets with binding investments, ArcelorMittal is delaying decisions, continuing to invest in coal-based infrastructure, and failing to deliver a credible transition strategy.
Caroline Ashley concluded: “ArcelorMittal’s climate footprint remains vast, and while its near-zero emission DRI projects remain stalled, it is forging ahead with new coal-based blast furnaces in India. The company is too busy balancing its books today to manage its emissions tomorrow. ArcelorMittal should live up to its global responsibility and delay no further. The steel industry today operates under uncertainty: tariffs, trade tensions, and volatile policy conditions. But one thing is certain: climate science. The climate crisis is not waiting for anybody, and neither should ArcelorMittal.”
SteelWatch is calling on ArcelorMittal to:
- Immediately publish its long-overdue Climate Action Report 3;
- Align its strategy with a science-based 1.5C pathway;
- Deliver plant-level transition plans across its global operations;
- Reorient capital expenditure toward real, large-scale decarbonisation.
A protest will be held outside the ArcelorMittal headquarters in Luxembourg on 6 May by the Fair Steel Coalition, a group of civil society organisations including SteelWatch. The photos and videos of the protest will be shared on the day through the link below.
ENDS
Notes:
The report Backtracking on Climate Action ArcelorMittal Corporate Climate Assessment 2025 Update will be live at this link after 00.01 on Tuesday 6 May: https://steelwatch.org/arcelormittal
Contacts:
Caroline Ashley
Director, SteelWatch (Luxembourg, CEST)
[email protected] | +44 7947 691 911
Gozde Incegul
Communications, SteelWatch (Turkey, CEST+1)
[email protected] | +90 537 583 5442
Julia Karlysheva
Communications, SteelWatch (The Netherlands, CEST)
[email protected]
Photos & Videos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KnPa4xohJDEflaCvQWO3Qiy25YXYEvn7?usp=sharing
For all media queries, please contact [email protected]
