For Immediate Release: December 19, 2024
Washington, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) federal “Buy Clean” policy action plan for 2025, released on Thursday, appropriately recognizes the need for “Buy Clean” incentives for all domestic steelmakers, integrated and electric arc furnaces (EAF) alike.
“Both integrated and electric arc steelmakers are necessary to meet our economic and national security needs, and both have a role in producing cleaner steel,” Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said. “It would be a losing proposition for decarbonization, our economic and national security, and workers if Buy Clean were to be implemented with an unworkable single standard that pits two fundamentally different production processes against one another.”
The American steel sector consists of EAFs and integrated mills that use basic oxygen furnaces (BOF), which make certain types of steel that cannot be made in EAFs. BOFs have significant employment effects, including many union jobs throughout the production process, from upstream raw materials to fabrication.
“The EPA’s announcement incentivizes all parts of the steel industry to continue leading the way in transitioning to a cleaner economy — driving innovation, promoting the adoption of new technologies, and ensuring that union workers at integrated mills are part of the solution,” Paul said.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has indicated that it will soon release “Buy Clean” procurement standards for steel products.
BACKGROUND:
On Aug. 16, 2022, Congress directed funding for several “Buy Clean” pilot programs as part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
- IRA Sec. 60116 provided $100 million to the EPA to develop a program to identify and label Low Embodied Carbon (LEC) construction materials and products;
- Sec. 60503 allotted $2.15 billion to GSA’s Federal Buildings Fund for construction using LEC construction materials and products; and
- Sec. 60506 provided $2 billion to the FHWA to reimburse and incentivize eligible recipients for the use of Low Embodied Carbon (LEC) construction materials and products.
In May 2023, AAM applauded the GSA for its announcement of a bifurcated approach to Buy Clean standards for steel products.
A bifurcated approach for steel products is supported by industry, labor, and environmental stakeholders who cautioned against a single standard in a June 12, 2024 letter to administration officials leading federal “Buy Clean” policy implementation.
On Oct. 8, 2024, key senators wrote to Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, urging that the FHWA’s “Buy Clean” policy adopt bifurcated thresholds for integrated and electric arc mills to incentivize emissions reduction throughout the sector.
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