A methodology for international comparisons of industrial energy efficiency was developed by the International Network on Energy Demand analysis in the Industrial Sector. International comparison of energy efficiency can provide a benchmark against which a country's performance can be measured and policies can be evaluated. Governments can use this information in designing policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prioritizing energy savings options. In light of the commitments accepted within the Framework Convention on Climate Change there is an increasing need for useful information on energy consumption and energy efficiency. This comparison raises interesting questions related to efforts to improve energy efficiency in developing countries, such as: what is the appropriate role of industrialized countries in promoting the adoption of low carbon technologies, how do international steel and cement companies influence the situation, and how can such information be used in the context of Clean Development Mechanism in the Kyoto Protocol? « less We conclude by comparing the identified potential for energy efficiency improvement and carbon dioxide emissions reduction in these key developing countries to that of the U.S. In contrast, there is significant potential for improvement in Mexico, India, and especially China, where adoption of best practice technologies could reduce energy use and carbon dioxide emissions from steel production by 50% and cement production by 37%. We show that Brazil has the lowest potential for improvement in both sectors. To gauge the potential for improvement in production of steel and cement in these countries, we calculate a ''best practice'' intensity based on use of international best practice technology to produce the mix of products manufactured in each country in 1995. We discuss trends that influence energy consumption, such as the amount of additives in cement (illustrated through the clinker/cement ratio), the share of electric arc furnaces, and the level of adoption of continuous casting. In this paper, we focus on the steel and more » cement sectors in Brazil, China, India, and Mexico.1 We review historical trends, noting that China became the world's largest producer of cement in 1985 and of steel in 1996. Five energy-intensive industrial subsectors account for the bulk of industrial energy use and related carbon dioxide emissions: iron and steel, chemicals, petroleum refining, pulp and paper, and cement. The industrial sector is extremely diverse, encompassing the extraction of natural resources, conversion of these resources into raw materials, and manufacture of finished products. The industrial sector is the most important end-use sector in developing countries in terms of energy use and was responsible for 50% of primary energy use and 53% of associated carbon dioxide emissions in 1995 (Price et al., 1999). Similarly, we find that the technical potential for reducing intensities of carbon dioxide emissions ranges between 26% and 49% of total carbon dioxide emissions more » from steel production in these countries. Using a best practice benchmark, we find that significant savings, in the range of 33% to 49% of total primary energy used to produce steel, are technically possible in these countries. In this report, we describe the key steel processes, discuss typical energy-intensity values for these processes, review historical trends in iron and steel production by process in five key developing countries, describe the steel industry in each of the five key developing countries, present international comparisons of energy use and carbon dioxide emissions among these countries, and provide our assessment of the technical potential to reduce these emissions based on best-practice benchmarking. Carbon dioxide emissions from steel production, which range between 5 and 15% of total country emissions in key developing countries (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South Africa), will continue to grow as these countries develop and as demand for steel products such as materials, automobiles, and appliances increases. ![]() Iron and steel production consumes enormous quantities of energy, especially in developing countries where outdated, inefficient technologies are still used to produce iron and steel.
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