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Steel has a very important role to play in the AEC industry. Buildings and infrastructure alone used up to 52% of the world’s total steel production in 2019 and the market value for the sector is expected to reach USD 14 trillion by 2025. In the US alone, steel accounted for 46% even in the non-residential and multi-story buildings. With the earth's population growing rapidly each year — especially in the dense metropolitan cities, housing problems are significant. Architects are often forced to explore new possibilities with micro-living and smart buildings.

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Developments of infrastructure that are equipped with high-end technology have increased the importance of steel as the main material in the building sectors. Often considered to be the more affordable and accessible solution, steel has become the fastest-growing material sector. It has the strength and durability needed for the construction and perfect recyclability, promoting a high environmental performance over the building’s life cycle. It has also been considered as a construction solution that is more energy-efficient and a good fit to achieve a carbon-neutral building.

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However, with all these benefits and important roles to play, it needs to be addressed that the steel industry accounts for approximately eleven percent of the world's carbon production. Currently, China is the main producer of steel, accounting for up to 52% of the global steel production. It has experienced huge growth in the sector, growing from having only one China-based company in the world's top ten steel producers in 2004, to having six of the world's largest steel producers. Some of these companies receive government support through loans and subsidies, allowing the steel sector to thrive and sell their commodities at lower prices compared to other countries. The country’s steel sector produced almost seven times more steel than its main competitor, India. This excessive amount means that China has an overproduction of steel and they need to export in order to maintain revenue.

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China’s steel industry has long been a controversy in the global market. China has the highest carbon dioxide emission rates in the world, with the steel industry being responsible for up to 20% of the country’s overall carbon emissions. The industry emits twice the amount of carbon dioxide compared to those in the US due to the contrast in their production process. While more than 70% of American-made steel is produced in electric-arc furnaces (EAF) that take advantage of scrap steel material, the Chinese plants are still using coal-fueled furnaces to smelt iron ore. This again, successfully drive down the cost of production, allowing for cheaper steel.

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The US and the EU realized the problem immediately as the cheap China steel price makes it difficult for them to compete in the global market. The more environmentally friendly approaches resulted in a higher steel price and less demand from customers, which when snowballed would risk the continuity of the steel plants in the US and EU and their employees' livelihood. The problem deepen when Indonesia — the world’s largest nickel reservation, decided to ban nickel export at the beginning of 2020. Nickel is an important component in steel production, accounting for the use of more than two-thirds of the world’s nickel supply. This ban effectively catapults the price of nickel, creating shortages of nickel supply. Still, one of the China-owned stainless steel firms was not impacted. Tsinghan — a government-supported company, owns a nickel plan in Indonesia, giving them full access to the nickel supply amid the export ban. While China ‘dirty’ steel is extremely controversial, banning them entirely might cause shortages in the west and raise the steel price even more.

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The US, along with the EU and Japan later agreed on trilateral negotiations called Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity. The alliance is created to pressurize the Chinese government regarding their subsidies towards the steel sector. The EU later decide to officially announce their carbon border tax levy to restrict market access for carbon-intensive products, by charging foreign competitors with ‘dirtier goods’ compared to those produced within the EU. Another EU tariff deal was also implemented, preventing China’s steel to be passed as EU products by enforcing that ‘the steel that EU steel exports need to be melted and poured within the EU region.’ This further limits China’s access to the steel market in the EU and the US.

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In October 2021, China’s government finally passed on regulations for their steel mills to cut down on their consumption. As the biggest steel producer in the world, the country has agreed to limit its steel output by making sure that the output in 2021 should be no higher than the 1.065 billion tones produced in 2020. Mills with blast furnaces are forced to cut down their production based on their emission levels while mills with electric furnaces are allowed to take voluntary actions to reduce their emissions. China has vowed to reduce its carbon footprint and reach maximum carbon emission by 2025.

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Yet in February 2022, China has recently announced that they will push their limits to 2030, claiming that the five years extension might be necessary as reduction efforts are expected to take more time. Regardless, some companies still claim that they will reach their carbon peak in 2025, and some even put earlier goals, setting it for 2023. Some have questioned the government's commitment to achieving the carbon peak before 2030 due to this extension, but the director of Lange Steel Information Research Center warmly welcomed the news claiming that the new guidelines provide better and more practical guidelines on how steel mills can gradually decrease their carbon levels and meet the green target, allowing for a smoother and planned transition.

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Regulating the ‘greener’ production and distribution of steel would perhaps take a few years to achieve. Shifting mills' coal-based production into electric furnaces and using recycled steel will be the initial step to clean the ‘dirty’ industry. ‘Cleaning’ this material sector would open great potential for the building and infrastructure industry as it gives buildings a lower carbon net to begin with, along with the steel itself as a more energy-efficient and carbon-effective material, further allowing for faster achievement of the net-zero buildings.