White paper 06 · Annex B
Glossary and abbreviations
The terms below are defined as they are used in this paper. Where a standard or regulation defines a term formally, the definition here is a plain-language summary and the formal text prevails.
| Term | Meaning in this paper |
|---|---|
| Alternatives analysis | Under the Equator Principles, an evaluation of technically and financially feasible alternatives that would reduce a project’s greenhouse gas emissions |
| BF-BOF | Blast furnace and basic oxygen furnace: the integrated route that reduces iron ore with coke and converts the resulting pig iron into steel with oxygen |
| Benchmark (CBAM) | A reference emission value per tonne of a good, used with the CBAM factor to reduce the certificates an importer must surrender, reflecting free allocation still given to EU producers |
| Billet | A semi-finished cast steel product of square section, rolled into bars, wire rod or light sections |
| CBAM | Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: the EU (and, from 2027, UK) system that charges importers for the carbon embedded in covered goods |
| CBAM factor | The percentage of the benchmark still deducted in a given year; 97.5% in 2026, falling to zero in 2034 |
| CEMAC | Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon) |
| CN code | Combined Nomenclature code used by the EU to classify goods for customs purposes |
| CO2e | Carbon dioxide equivalent: a quantity of greenhouse gases expressed as the amount of CO2 with the same warming effect |
| Combined margin | An emission factor for grid electricity that blends the average and marginal (operating and build) views, used by some lenders for project accounting |
| Crude steel | Steel in its first solid form after casting; the denominator used by worldsteel and most site-intensity standards |
| Default value (CBAM) | An emission value set by the EU for a good and country, used when actual embedded emissions are not documented and verified |
| Direct emissions | Emissions released from sources at the installation itself; Scope 1 in the GHG Protocol |
| DR-grade | Iron ore or pellets suitable for direct reduction: high in iron (ideally 67% Fe or more) and low in silica and alumina |
| DRI | Direct-reduced iron: iron ore reduced in the solid state, usually in a shaft furnace with reformed natural gas or hydrogen |
| EAF | Electric-arc furnace: a furnace that melts scrap, DRI or pig iron with an electric arc between graphite electrodes and the charge |
| EAF dust | Fine dust captured from the furnace’s fume-extraction system; classified as hazardous because of its zinc, lead and cadmium content |
| Embedded emissions | Under CBAM, the emissions released in producing a good, including those of relevant precursors; for iron and steel only direct emissions count, including the direct emissions of precursors such as DRI, and the emissions of purchased electricity are not priced |
| EN 15804 | The European standard setting core rules for environmental product declarations of construction products |
| EP4 | The fourth version of the Equator Principles (2020), a risk-management framework used by banks for project finance |
| EPD | Environmental product declaration: a verified document reporting the life-cycle environmental impacts of a product |
| Gangue | The non-iron minerals in iron ore, such as silica and alumina |
| GHG Protocol | The Greenhouse Gas Protocol corporate accounting and reporting standards of the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development |
| Green iron | Iron made with very low emissions, typically by hydrogen-based direct reduction using low-carbon electricity |
| Grid emission factor | The quantity of CO2 (or CO2e) emitted per kWh of electricity supplied from a grid; may be average, marginal or contractual |
| HBI | Hot-briquetted iron: DRI compacted while hot into dense briquettes, which are more stable for shipping and storage |
| Hot charging | Charging billets from the caster into the reheating furnace while still hot, to save reheating energy |
| Induction heating | Heating billets electrically by electromagnetic induction before rolling |
| ISO 14404 | The international standard series for calculating the CO2 intensity of iron and steel production sites |
| ISO 14067 | The international standard for the carbon footprint of products |
| KPIZ | Kribi Port Industrial Zone, the industrial-port zone at Kribi within which the project is located |
| Ladle furnace (LF) | A secondary-metallurgy station where liquid steel is reheated, alloyed and refined before casting |
| Location-based Scope 2 | Scope 2 emissions calculated with the average emission factor of the grid where the electricity is consumed |
| Market-based Scope 2 | Scope 2 emissions calculated with the emission factor of the electricity a company has contracted for, evidenced by contractual instruments |
| Metallic charge | The iron-bearing materials melted in the furnace: scrap, DRI, HBI or pig iron |
| Mill scale | Iron oxide flakes formed on hot steel during reheating and rolling |
| Near-zero emission steel | Steel below a threshold intensity defined by the IEA, sliding from 0.40 t CO2e per tonne at 0% scrap to 0.05 t at 100% scrap |
| Paris alignment | Assessment by multilateral development banks of whether an operation is consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement |
| Precursor | Under CBAM, an input good whose embedded emissions are added to those of the final good, such as DRI or pig iron for steel |
| RC-1 | Reference configuration 1: Cameroon Steel’s planning estimate of the Mboro works (phases, benchmarks and balances), used for public and regulatory discussion |
| Scope 1, 2, 3 | Direct emissions; emissions from purchased electricity, steam or heat; and all other value-chain emissions, in the GHG Protocol |
| Scrap-EAF | Steelmaking in an electric-arc furnace with a predominantly scrap charge |
| Shaft furnace | A vertical reactor in which iron-ore pellets descend against a rising reducing gas to produce DRI |
| Slag | The molten oxide layer that forms on liquid steel in the furnace, solidifying into a rock-like material that can be used as aggregate |
| SSP2-4.5, SSP5-8.5 | IPCC scenarios combining socio-economic pathways with radiative forcing; intermediate and very high emissions respectively |
| Upstream emissions | Emissions released in producing purchased inputs before they reach the plant, such as the DRI made by a supplier |
| Waelz kiln | A rotary kiln process that recovers zinc from EAF dust as a zinc oxide concentrate |
| WBGT | Wet-bulb globe temperature: a heat-stress index combining air temperature, humidity, radiant heat and air movement (ISO 7243) |
Source: Cameroon Steel, from the standards and documents cited in Annex C.
Units and conventions
- t is the metric tonne; Mt a million tonnes; Mtpa a million tonnes per year; kt a thousand tonnes.
- t CO2/t is tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of steel; RC-1 values are per tonne of finished product unless stated, and worldsteel values per tonne of crude steel.
- kWh, MWh, GWh, TWh are kilowatt-hours and their multiples; g/kWh is grams of CO2 (or CO2e) per kilowatt-hour.
- GJ, PJ are gigajoules and petajoules; bcf is a billion cubic feet of natural gas.
- FCFA is the Central African CFA franc, pegged at 655.957 FCFA to the euro; dollar equivalents use a planning rate of 600 FCFA per US dollar.
- Ranges are written with "to"; "about" signals a rounded value.
Cite this chapter
Cameroon Steel (2026). Lower-carbon steel from Cameroon: it could reach a third of the world’s carbon intensity. White paper 06, annex B: Glossary and abbreviations. CS-WP-06. https://www.cameroon-steel.com/en/library/lower-carbon-steel/annex-glossary/
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