The Iron & Steel Outlook 2026

Our 2026 Sustainable Iron & Steel Outlook

For a carmaker, an appliance maker or a builder, steel sits in Scope 3, which dominate most corporate footprints and are the hardest to reduce. From January 2026 those emissions also carry a price at the EU border under CBAM. The pressure to act is real and rising.

Green steel is not a technology problem. The furnace already works, and the plants that can make near-zero carbon steel are proven. What is missing is the final investment decision, because the green premium has no buyer to underwrite it. This report looks at what 2026+ brings, and how Carbon3 can help close that gap equitably.

Demand & finance has to lead. No producer has yet scored even half marks on transition readiness. The strategic question is no longer whether to decarbonize; it is who captures the value as the sector cleans up, and who is left paying the carbon bill.

Authors: Ilja Nevolin, Paul Cruickshank, Chris Chatterton