A tax on carbon dioxide emissions that could be imposed by the UK government will put thousands of jobs at risk in South Yorkshire, and would hit industries including steel and glass manufacturing.
T…
A tax on carbon dioxide emissions that could be imposed by the UK government will put thousands of jobs at risk in South Yorkshire, and would hit industries including steel and glass manufacturing. Trade unionists and politicians Angela Smith and Denis MacShane, believe the plans could prompt some firms to move overseas where costs would be lower. Ms. Smith informed Environment Minister Greg Baker that 2,000 jobs in her constituency depend on steelworks, ceramic pipe manufacturer Hepworths and glassmakers. She said the tax means electricity costs will increase dramatically, adding: UK steel producers reckon the industry will have to pay an extra GBP 16.2 million in 2013/2014 and a whopping extra GBP 32.3 million in 2015/16. MacShane, whose constituency includes the massive former Corus works at Parkgate, now owned by Indian conglomerate Tata, added: We all support de-carbonizing the economy but not de-industrializing the economy. The Government is proposing a killer tax which no other EU member state is bringing in. It will hit steel, glass and ceramic firms hard. The decisions on future investment of our three major steel employers, Tata, Celsa, in South Wales, and Outukumpu, in Sheffield, are taken in foreign countries. If the Government creates an anti-steel climate, certain consequences will be drawn. According to a Tata spokesman: While we agree with the comments about the heavy imposition that carbon regulations represent for the competitiveness of our business we would not try to suggest that Tata Steel is in any way thinking of transferring existing steelmaking capacity from the UK somewhere else.