Gerdau, the largest Brazilian steelmaker of long steel products, is investing R$6 billion in Minas Gerais until 2026; R$2 billion will be invested this year.

According to Marcos Faraco, Gerdau's vice president, most of the investment will go to the Ouro Branco plant, the company's largest operation in the world. It will also dedicate its forestry based in Minas Gerais, which produces charcoal used in the steel production to replace the fossil origin mineral coal.

Gustavo Werneck, the general director of Gerdau, said that the main goal of the company is to look for alternatives from the perspective of zero carbon emissions until 2025.

Currently, the company's average greenhouse gas emissions are 0.9 tons of CO2 per ton of steel, less than half of the world's average in the sector: 1.89 tons of CO2 per ton of steel. The company planned to reduce it further, according to Werneck.