Manufacturing is generally a country's largest energy consumer and CO2 emissions producer, especially in developing regions. In particular, the steel industry, which is the pillar of the manufacturing industry, has considerable potential for energy conservation and emissions reductions. This study presents a comprehensive review of a low carbon strategy for the metallurgical industry through the application of a composition method of system dynamics and a carbon flow analysis. This study combines three different, influential factors in an innovative way. These factors are the following: 1) the iron to steel ratio, 2) the application of new technologies and 3) the recycling rate. Results indicated that first, inputting additional Electric Arc Furnace Steel is the most efficient way to achieve the goals of both energy conservation and emissions reduction, and second, because of the high price and low stocks of scrap in China, the promotion of efficient technologies (blast furnace dehumidifier saving, TRT (Blast Furnace Top Gas Recovery Turbine Unit), BFG dry dust removal technology, blast furnace coal injection technology, blast furnace COG injection technology and DRI) and the development of a circular economy are the most feasible and viable methods to reduce carbon emissions. Based on these results, a long-term roadmap toward carbon control in the metallurgical industry was developed. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.