On 30 June, the ‘Specialised Seminar on Green and Low-Carbon Development in the Special Steel Industry and Responses to the CBAM’, organised by the China Special Steel Enterprises Association and hosted by the Sinosteel Wuhan Safety and Environmental Protection Research Institute, was held in Wuhan. The seminar focused on the practical challenges facing domestic special steel enterprises—including carbon accounting, compliance reporting and rising export costs—following the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) entering its substantive levy phase in January 2026. It aimed to build industry consensus and explore collaborative pathways to address these challenges.

Zhao Fazhong, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Special Steel Enterprises Association, pointed out that enterprises urgently need to improve the quality of their carbon data and their practical reporting capabilities, and recommended establishing a response system across multiple dimensions, including policy coordination, mutual recognition of standards and industrial chain collaboration. Wu Qibing, Chairman of the China Iron and Steel Safety and Environmental Research Institute, stated that the Institute would strengthen professional technical support in areas such as carbon measurement diagnostics and CBAM compliance consultancy. Yuan Lusheng, Deputy General Manager of Sinosteel International, proposed that the industry should capitalise on its strengths in low-carbon metallurgical technologies to promote the alignment of domestic and international carbon accounting standards and lower compliance barriers.

Experts from institutions such as Tsinghua University and TÜV Rheinland delivered keynote presentations on low-carbon pathways and carbon tariff declaration standards; leading enterprises including CITIC Pacific Special Steel and Fushun Special Steel shared their practical approaches. The roundtable discussion featured in-depth exchanges on topics such as the establishment of carbon management systems and carbon reduction pathways. Yang Dinghai, Executive Vice President of the Sinosteel Institute of Safety and Environmental Protection, stated that the institute would continue to provide end-to-end services, including carbon asset management and the development of digital platforms, to support the industry’s green transition.

This seminar systematically outlined a number of feasible courses of action, providing an important reference for the special steel industry in addressing international green trade barriers.