Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Bluescope Steel (Bluescope) exhibits strategic engagement on climate policy. The company demonstrates both positive and negative engagement with science-aligned climate policy in Australia and New Zealand, broadly supporting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and renewable energy targets, yet also advocating for exemptions on emissions trading policy and renewable energy legislation. Although Bluescope displays top-line support for the decarbonization of the steel industry, it also advocates a continued role for fossil gas in the steelmaking process, with some ambiguities around a timeline for a long-term transition to decarbonized production such as green hydrogen.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Bluescope displays positive top-line messaging on climate policy in Australia and New Zealand. In a February 2025 submission on Victoria's Renewable Gas Directions Paper, the company supported Australia’s 2050 net zero target, while also supporting Australia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement. Furthermore, in an August 2024 submission on New Zealand’s second emissions reduction plan, Bluescope’s subsidiary New Zealand Steel supported the need for climate change regulation in New Zealand.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: Bluescope appears to engage with a mix of positive and negative positions on climate-related policy in Australia and New Zealand, largely supporting renewable energy targets while advocating for a range of exemptions on GHG emissions targets, emissions trading policy and renewable energy initiatives. Bluescope supports both federal and state-based renewable energy targets in Australia, supporting the achievement of Australia's 82% renewable energy target in a March 2024 consultation submission and calling for the Victorian government to increase its proposed 4.5PJ renewable gas target in a February 2025 comments on the State's Renewable Gas Directions Paper. While the company also supported Australia's 2030 GHG target in its July 2024 submission to the NSW EPA’s draft Climate Change Assessment Requirements and Guide, it also expressed concerns around the proposed imposition of emissions abatement goals for resource projects and advocated for Safeguard facilities to be exempt from key elements of the Guide in the same submission.
Although Bluescope's subsidiary, New Zealand Steel, supported the role of New Zealand's emissions trading scheme in achieving the country's carbon targets in an August 2024 consultation submission, Bluescope appears to support Australia's Safeguard Mechanism with major exceptions. For example, the company appeared to advocate for the indefinite continuation of tailored treatment for trade-exposed facilities under the Mechanism in a November 2023 consultation submission.
Bluescope also appears to demonstrate largely oppositional positions on renewable energy legislation. For example, the company advocated for the New South Wales government's Renewable Fuel Scheme to be suspended indefinitely in a September 2024 consultation submission, emphasizing that gas users without near-term use cases for hydrogen should not be required to purchase renewable fuel certificates under the scheme. Bluescope also appeared to advocate for Australia's Capacity Investment Scheme to be expanded to include fossil gas from 2030 in a February 2025 consultation submission.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Bluescope demonstrates a mix of positive and negative positions on the energy transition, supporting the decarbonization of the steel industry yet also advocating a prolonged role for fossil gas in the steelmaking process. Bluescope emphasized the need for increased investment in renewable electricity to support the decarbonization of Australian industry in its February 2024 consultation submission to AEMO’s Draft 2024 Integrated System Plan, and also supported an increased role for biomethane in hard-to-abate sectors in a February 2025 consultation submission.
However, while Bluescope supported the eventual transition to green hydrogen-based steel production in its April 2024 submission to Australia’s Energy and Electricity Sector Plan, it went on to emphasize the technological and economic viability of this transition to promote an expanded role for fossil gas in the steelmaking process in the short to medium term. The company also appeared to advocate for government policy to support increased domestic gas supply for industry in a July 2024 consultation submission, without placing clear conditions on the need for CCS or methane emission abatement on the use of fossil gas.
Industry Association Governance: Bluescope has not published a review of its industry association memberships and climate policy engagement, though the company has disclosed a partial list of its industry association memberships in its FY2024 Climate Action Report, published September 2024. Bluescope maintains membership to several industry associations that are actively engaged on climate policy in Australia, including the Australian Industry Group, the Business Council of Australia and the Energy Users Association of Australia. All three groups appear to have engaged in advocacy promoting a prolonged role for fossil gas in Australia’s energy mix.
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 company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.