Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Indian Steel Association (ISA) is highly engaged on climate policy, supporting measures to decarbonize the steel industry including the development of green hydrogen. However, the association has advocated against the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and continues to support a role for fossil fuels, including coal, in steel production.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: ISA has limited top-line communications on climate policy. The association supported India’s 2070 net zero target in a December 2024 Strategic Engagement Report. The association supported targets under the Paris Agreement on X (formerly Twitter), in August 2023. ISA also advocated for the government of India to promote technology transfer measures under the UNFCCC in a November 2022 publication.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: ISA takes a mixture of positive and negative positions in its engagement with climate-related regulations. The association has supported circular economy measures in the steel sector, including India’s vehicle scrappage policy that mandates the reusing and recycling of steel in January 2023 and April 2023 posts on X. ISA also supported the introduction of a carbon market in India in July 2023 and November 2023 publications.
On the other hand, ISA has consistently advocated against the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), citing that it violates World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, including in a February 2024 MetalGround interview with ISA secretary general Alok Sahay. However, Sahay appeared to suggest India should counter the EU CBAM with its own carbon border adjustment mechanism in the same piece. Additionally, in a May 2023 post on X, the association suggested that the EU CBAM violates the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) for emission reductions under the Paris Agreement.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Indian Steel Association generally supports measures to decarbonize the steel sector including measures to develop green hydrogen, however the association has also advocated for the continued role of fossil fuels, including coal.
The association supported measures to decarbonize the steel sector, including tax incentives to support low-carbon steel and supporting investments in renewable energy, hydrogen and carbon capture in its December 2024 Strategic Engagement Report. In a November 2023 publication, ISA supported India’s National Green Hydrogen Mission to develop green hydrogen for hard-to-abate sectors. ISA also supported recycling scrap steel and the use of electric arc furnaces to decarbonize the steel sector in a March 2023 post on X.
Former ISA president Dilip Oommen appeared to support the continued role of coking coal in steel production in India in a November 2023 press release. The association did appear to support a role for fossil gas in direct reduced iron (DRI) production, with some ambiguities around a timeline for a long-term transition to decarbonized production such as green hydrogen, and also supporting biomass without specifying whether sustainably sourced or recognizing the risks and trade-offs of increased biofuel use in a July 2023 publication.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the industry association’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q2 2025.
Additional Note: ISA is headquartered in India, where InfluenceMap’s LobbyMap platform can currently only make a provisional assessment of corporate climate policy engagement, due to limited capability to access publicly available data on this issue. As it is possible that InfluenceMap is not yet able to fully capture evidence of ISA’s climate policy engagement activities, these scores should be considered provisional at this time.