News: Climate change policies threatening local industry claims Rotherham MP
Rotherham MP Denis MacShane has welcomed the publication of a report on the combined impact of the Government's climate change policies is imposing significant costs on the UK's energy intensive industries, which warns that without urgent review could see some companies leaving the UK for good.
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 last week, 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."
Tata Steel Europe, which has manufacturing plants in Rotherham, participated in the study.
EIUG website
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 last week, 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."
Tata Steel Europe, which has manufacturing plants in Rotherham, participated in the study.
EIUG website
0 comments:
Post a Comment