Integrated assessment of co-benefits between energy efficiency improvement and emission mitigation in Chinese iron and steel industry

The iron and steel industry is one of the largest energy users and sources of greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions worldwide. In 2010, China accounted for 45 % of the global steel production, and consumed 15.8 EJ in final energy and emitted an estimated 1,344 Mt CO₂eq of greenhouse gases, 8.4 Mt of PM, and 5.3 Mt of SO₂. China is facing severe challenges with respect to energy security, greenhouse gas and air pollutant emission mitigation. In this paper we analyse the co-benefits of best available energy efficiency measures that jointly tackle above problems, in contrast to end of pipe technology. We analyse the co-benefits in Chinese iron and steel industry using energy conservation supply curve (ECSC) and the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model. First, the ECSC was made to examine the costs and benefits of the energy efficiency measures, and to estimate the cost-effective potentials. The results of the ECSC were introduced exogenously to the GAINS model. The findings show that the annual technical energy saving potential for Chinese iron and steel industry for 2030 is around 5.7 EJ in terms of emission reduction of GHGs and air pollutants estimate to 463 Mt CO₂eq, 253 kt of PM, and 1,392 kt of SO₂. Investments and savings were calculated for different scenarios, showing that energy efficiency investments will result in a reduction in air pollution control costs.