LONDON (Reuters) – Greenhouse gas emissions from the aluminium sector have been slipping in recent years even as output grows as the industry uses less carbon-intensive technology and recycling ramps up, the International Aluminium Institute (IAI) said on Wednesday.
Emissions from the industry in 2022, the most recent data available and when production rose 3.9%, dipped to 1.11 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from 1.13 billion the year before, the IAI said in a statement.
“Emissions reductions must be deeper, faster and more widespread, but for the first time, we can talk about heading in the right direction,” said IAI Secretary General Miles Prosser.
The reductions were driven by a shift towards hydropower in top aluminium producer China along with the use of more renewable energy in other regions.
The lightweight metal widely used in transport, packaging and construction is the most energy-intensive metal to produce, requiring large amounts of electricity.
Also fuelling lower emissions was rising output of recycled or secondary aluminium, which typically uses 95% less energy than primary.
Global recycled production in 2022 rose 6% while primary output increased 2.8%, IAI data showed.
Power is the largest component of carbon emissions, but aluminium operations also emit CO2 from carbon anodes, transport and raw materials alumina and bauxite.
Norway’s Hydro said last October that it expected demand for its low-carbon products to rise 20% a year on average until 2030, while the market for primary aluminium is only seen growing 3% a year over the same period.
Emissions Intensity Primary Recycled
Production Production
2016 1,016 16.1 59.9 29.2
2017 1,077 16.1 63.4 31.5
2018 1,095 16.1 64.2 32.9
2019 1,131 16.8 63.7 33.7
2020 1,133 16.4 65.3 34.5
2021 1,127 15.8 67.1 37.0
2022 1,112 15.1 69.0 39.2
Note: Emissions in million metric tons of CO2; intensity in tons of CO2 emissions per ton of primary aluminium; production in million tons
(Reporting by Eric Onstad; Editing by Mark Potter)
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