Climate change measures 'threatening steel jobs'

CLIMATE change policies are threatening Rotherham’s economy, according to the town’s MP.

Denis MacShane has welcomed the publication of a report which concludes that the combined impact of the Government's climate change policies is imposing significant costs on the UK's energy intensive industries, such as steelmaking.

The Cumulative Impact of Climate Change Policies on UK Energy Intensive Industries is published jointly by the Energy Intensive Users Group (EIUG) and the TUC and says that the forecast increase in total energy bills for industries like steel, taking electricity, gas and emissions reduction schemes together, could be as high as 141 per cent by 2020.

Speaking during a briefing on the report at the House of Commons, Dr MacShane said: "We will need our steel industry if we are to green our economy.

“Wind turbines, wave power, new nuclear power stations will all require large quantities of steel.

“But this report shows that the current mix of policies is putting an unequal burden on the UK steel industry's shoulders.

“The government must urgently reassess these policies if we are not to lose out to cheaper steel from countries like Russia and China and risk seeing more of our own industry close.”

Michael Leahy, general secretary of the Community Trade Union, said: “This report is a welcome and revealing insight into the challenges faced by heavy industry.

“We accept that we must move towards a low carbon economy—but the route you take to get there is all important.

“The UK's steel industry is already among the greenest in the world and steel can play its part in the renewable energy projects that will help us tomorrow.

“But to do this we need to counter the threat from 'carbon leakage' that is putting the steel industry and our members' jobs at risk today.”

The report calls for a balance of climate change policies between industry and other sectors of the UK to transform the UK to a low carbon economy.

Its authors also want impact assessments carried out on UK climate change policies to look at the combined effect on intensive energy users.