Kobe Steel

Kobe Steel is a major integrated steel producer whose core business is inherently carbon-intensive. The company operates blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF) steelmaking, which relies on metallurgical coal as a reducing agent and is among the most emissions-heavy industrial processes. According to its own ESG Data Book, the Kobelco Group's total greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) were approximately 17.2 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent in fiscal 2023. This places it among the higher-emitting entities within the global steel sector, an industry already responsible for roughly 7-9% of global CO2 emissions.

While Kobe Steel has announced a 2050 carbon neutrality ambition and intermediate 2030 targets, its transition pathway relies heavily on technologies like carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen reduction that are not yet commercially proven at the scale required for primary steel production. The company's near-term plans do not indicate a phase-out of its coal-dependent blast furnace operations. Its emissions profile and decarbonization strategy lag behind sector leaders who are investing more aggressively in electric arc furnace capacity and green hydrogen. The Climate Transition Pathway assessment reflects this peer-relative underperformance, indicating the company's emissions trajectory is not aligned with a 1.5°C scenario.