Algoma Steel on Al Gore's radar as a top source of pollution

New software has been made available that allows the public to track some of the globe’s top producers of greenhouse gases – and Algoma Steel finds itself high up on the list.

Former US vice-president Al Gore recently launched a global emissions tracker to keep polluters accountable for the chemicals they emit into the air.

Created by the non-profit Climate Trace, the tracker uses satellites, sensors, and machine learning to track tens of thousands of the world’s top pollution sources from a variety of sectors, including:

• Agriculture
• Buildings
• Fluorinated gases
• Fossil fuel operations
• Forestry and land use
• Manufacturing
• Mineral extraction
• Power
• Transportation
• Waste

Of the 72,000 polluters on the interactive map, Algoma Steel ranks 1,438th in CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions, which measures the output of CO2 and other greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide.

That places the steel plant in the top two per cent of the globe’s biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, and among the highest producers in Ontario.

While it may seem alarming, Sault Climate Hub volunteer and former mayoral candidate Tobin Kern says it’s to be expected.

“It’s not a surprise, but it’s pretty indicative of steel making,” he says. “I think it’s pretty widely known that they create a lot of emissions because of the amount of energy they use and the way they produce the energy they need through coke.”

According to Algoma Steel’s website, the plant says they’ve reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent since 1993, and they hope to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In November 2021, Algoma Steel’s board of directors had given the go-ahead to begin construction on a pair of electric arc furnaces – a $700-million investment that pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent.

That project is expected to be completed in 2024, with the goal of eliminating its coke-making processes entirely by 2029.

“I think they’re going the right way,” Kern says. “It’s great to see that they’re making moves to reduce their carbon emissions. We’ll always need steel, so we need to clean up how we go about making it. They’re definitely making steps in the right direction.”

SooToday reached out to Algoma Steel, but they were unavailable for comment.