Bring American Industry Back
American manufacturing is the cleanest in the world with the highest environmental standards. Unfortunately, countries like China and Russia don’t have the same standards.
We can restore American manufacturing leadership in industries like steel and concrete by strengthening our own supply chains and eliminating dependence from countries that don’t meet our environmental standards.
America manufactures products like steel from this arc furnace
Why bring manufacturing back to the U.S.?
Of the top 10 countries producing crude steel, the U.S. is the fourth largest and has the second lowest carbon intensity. America’s laws, programs, and voluntary actions by industry have resulted in a comparatively cleaner manufacturing base. To strengthen competitiveness and leadership, the U.S. should support research and development of innovative technologies that reduce steel manufacturing emissions that don’t sacrifice productivity.
Top Crude Steel Producers’ CO2 Emissions Intensity in 2019
Source: Crude steel emissions and production data for 2019 from Steel Climate Impact: An International Benchmarking of Energy and CO2 Intensities (Hasanbeigi, 2022)
New and Forthcoming Reactors Worldwide
Source: Map built using information from – American Nuclear Society “25th Annual NuclearNews Reference Section” Nuclear News: The International Issue, March 2023.
Worldwide appetite for nuclear energy has never been larger, and innovative American technologies can meet this demand. China and Russia are currently building more nuclear reactors than the U.S., but two deals signed with Poland in 2022 are turning the tide for U.S. industry. The deals, worth $44 billion, are equivalent to all nuclear investments made in 2021. America must continue to support its burgeoning nuclear innovation engine domestically and seize export opportunities.
Electric Capacity of the World’s Nuclear Reactors by Country Supplier
Source: Map built using information from – American Nuclear Society “25th Annual NuclearNews Reference Section” Nuclear News: The International Issue, March 2023.
Challenges
Solutions
Challenge: China and Russia are currently building more nuclear reactors than the U.S. There is an array of new and advanced American designs, but Russia currently accounts for about two-thirds of reactor exports worldwide.
Solution: Today, the United States remains the foremost nuclear power in the world, from our power plants to our nuclear navy. We must invest in America’s nuclear plants to keep them online, and keep our domestic industry and supply chain strong.
Challenge: Steel from China and petrochemicals from India emit more carbon dioxide than American manufacturing.
Solution: Whether it’s higher emitting steel from China or petrochemicals from India, we can level the playing field for American manufacturers – both so we use more of our product at home and export more abroad.
Challenge: China is financing energy and industrial projects in the developing world where the U.S. is not.
Solution: When a third world nation buys a nuclear plant or other energy project from China, China will finance it for them. Our manufacturers are disadvantaged in this process. We can turbocharge U.S. clean energy exports to the developing world by leveraging our export banks.
Challenge: A recent life cycle analysis conducted by the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) National Energy Technology Laboratory on U.S. liquified natural gas (LNG) exports shows that American LNG can be up to 30% cleaner than Russian natural gas.
Solution: The United States is in a unique position to lead on global clean energy action. For example, authorizing liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals means American gas, produced by America’s workforce can provide cleaner gas to the rest of the world.
USA Steel Production Has Significantly Lower Emission Intensity Than China
