Japan’s steelmaker Kobe Steel is revising its three-year investment plan, cutting it from around 950 billion yen to 750 billion yen in its medium-term management plan for the fiscal year 2024 to 2026, saying a perceived slowdown in the global decarbonization trend is a key reason. The company opts to prioritize economic rationality in the short term.

Kobe Steel’s decision will postpone some decarbonization-related investments. The move showed the company's emphasis on pursuing growth and profitability.

According to the official notice, Kobe Steel aims for a 30-40% emissions cut by the fiscal year 2030. The company will achieve this by increasing HBI use in blast furnaces and implementing energy-saving measures. Concurrently, they're fast-tracking plans for large, innovative electric furnaces to produce high-grade steel, moving away from their current two-blast furnace system.