European steel needs a level playing field in which legislation does not harm its competitiveness or that of the European economy, says Eurofer.
In an open letter it stated it was gravely concerned that EU Climate Change policy will impact the steel industry and make it uncompetitive.
“We are extremely disappointed that EU climate change policy does not reflect the political agreement when the Directive was adopted in December 2008.”
“The EU steel industry will be severely damaged because of the refusal to provide 100% free allowances for best performers despite the commitment for this in the ETS Directive and the failure so far to allow compensation for ETS related increases in electricity costs.”
The consequence of not correctly implementing the ETS Directive would severely impact the industry, damage its competitive position and hamper its ability to invest and would ultimately cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in Europe.
The measures would increase emissions as market share is off-shored to non-EU countries with inferior emissions standards. The consequence will be more steel imports with a worse CO2 balance at the expense of EU industry, jobs and GDP.
The letter was written to help mark Eurofer’s first European Steel Day being held in Brussels.