Backtracking on Climate Action – ArcelorMittal Corporate Climate Assessment 2025 Update
Up until 2024, ArcelorMittal consistently positioned itself as a leader in decarbonising the global steel industry. With the ArcelorMittal Corporate Climate Assessment 2024, published in May 2024, SteelWatch challenged that narrative, exposing the stark gap between its rhetoric and its actions — and called on ArcelorMittal to step up and lead real transformation.
Up until 2024, ArcelorMittal consistently positioned itself as a leader in decarbonising the global steel industry. With the ArcelorMittal Corporate Climate Assessment 2024, published in May 2024, SteelWatch challenged that narrative, exposing the stark gap between its rhetoric and its actions — and called on ArcelorMittal to step up and lead real transformation.
But over the past year, instead of stepping up, ArcelorMittal has stalled and quietly withdrawn from its leadership narrative. Key plans have been delayed, and decisions critical to decarbonisation have been put on hold.
At a time of accelerating climate breakdown, stalling is not standing still — it is sliding backwards. ArcelorMittal’s climate footprint remains vast. From 2018 levels, the CO2e intensity has decreased by only 5.4% globally and 5.0% in Europe. This is alarmingly remote compared to the company’s own 2030 targets of –25% and –35% respectively. None of the company’s five Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) plants in Europe and Canada have reached a final investment decision. Transformation stalled before it even started.
The past year has seen turbulence in the global steel industry — rising imports of Chinese steel, delays in green hydrogen deployment, and new tariffs. ArcelorMittal has publicly cited these headwinds, particularly in Europe as reasons for stalling. Yet, in communications to investors, the company presents strength and resilience: profit per tonne now exceeds pre-COVID levels.
SteelWatch does not dispute that companies need to work hard to maintain their commercial viability when economic times are tough. But this should not come at the expense of strategic vision, or the climate. ArcelorMittal — one of the largest steelmakers in the world, producing 58 million tonnes of steel and generating 62.4 billion USD in turnover in 2024 — is more than just a market participant. It is a market-shaper. And with that comes the responsibility to lead the transformation to a zero-emissions economy, not wait for ideal conditions.
Instead, the company continues to prioritise shareholder returns over climate action. In 2024, ArcelorMittal spent only 300 million USD on climate initiatives — less than 7% of its total 4.4 billion USD capital expenditure — while returning 1.7 billion USD to the shareholders. Since 2021, only 800 million USD has been spent on decarbonisation, under 2.5% of the 32.6 billion USD it has generated in operating cash.
There are minor signs of progress. Emissions intensity has marginally declined, and electric arc furnace (EAF) usage has grown. But these improvements are insufficient. The company still operates 33 coal based blast furnaces around the world, which represent 87% of its iron-making capacity. Meanwhile, control of the company has further consolidated under the Mittal family, now holding 44.25% of shareholder voting rights, up from 41.5% at the end of 2023. The long-promised, much-anticipated Climate Action Report 3 has not materialised, meaning the company hits the mid-point of this decade effectively without an up-to-date climate strategy to chart its future course.
This is not the behaviour of a company leading transformation. To be credible, ArcelorMittal must urgently:
- Release an updated climate strategy that is aligned with a 1.5C trajectory and puts near-zero emissions
production at the heart of business strategy; - Set and act on bold, science-based targets in five-year intervals and covering the entire value chain;
- Deliver plant-level transition plans for every plant, ensuring a just transition for workers and communities and robust implementation; and
- Reorient capital spending towards low-carbon transformation, and invest in renewable energy and green iron across the company’s global footprint.
The science is clear: climate action is not optional. ArcelorMittal has secured more than 3.8 billion EUR in public subsidies for decarbonisation. Now, it must deliver. SteelWatch calls on ArcelorMittal’s leadership to chart a bold, credible path toward transformation — one that reflects the scale of its emissions, its market power, and its responsibility to future generations.
Read the full brief in English.
