, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Trade Unions
Because at some point, we'll be held to reckoning for that as well. Can I just extend this one point, because I know Janet wants to come in as well, Chair. Just to ask, Unite wrote recently to the UK Government putting the point that, if there was investment…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Trade Unions
And not offshore the steel production, whether it's in traditional blast furnaces, to somewhere else, and say, 'Well, that's their problem'.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Trade Unions
—and we're going to get to the point where it is replicable.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Trade Unions
Tata's evidence earlier on today was that that's improving all the time—
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Trade Unions
Can I just pick you up on—? You say 'at this moment'—
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Trade Unions
Alasdair, are you going to be equally diplomatic?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Trade Unions
Oh, no. [Laughter.]
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Trade Unions
Yes, okay. Thank you. Can I turn to some of the options for decarbonising? We've heard from Tata this morning, and they were highly diplomatic in laying out that there are numerous options that are on the table; there's no pecking order. But reading between…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Trade Unions
Shavanah, the obvious question is: what levers, please? What sort of levers are you talking about?
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Thank you, Chair. I'm sorry to go back, but it is helpful to get clarity. You've made it really clear that two of the key factors that you need now resolved are, first, the investment support for the transition to net zero, which will require significant…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Yes.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
So, my follow-up question would then be—. I'm not going to ask you for then where is the deadline, because you've said you have positive discussions going on with the UK Government and so on, but let's assume we have a positive outcome and all the…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Just a couple of things I want to come back to. July, then, is not a deadline for these negotiations with the UK Government.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Right, that's good.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
But, if the opportunity was there, you'd be able, in the timescale described in the Celtic sea project, which will come in phases, we understand that, but you'd be, subject to the successful outcome of discussions with the UK Government so that you can pursue…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Yes, absolutely.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Can I ask, on the—? It's great that we've got this potential, and our understanding is that the bid that was put forward from Milford Haven and Port Talbot came across extremely strongly to those who assessed the bids, which is fantastic, because, clearly…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
You seem quite positive about that, which is quite a contrast to recent years of discussion. Has it changed significantly, then, with the recent announcements? And could I ask you also to touch on the recent runaway energy prices that we've seen? How has the…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Okay. I did my best.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Okay. Fine. I'm trying to get a sense of your priorities and the scale of those priorities—what would come first, and so on. But could I ask you then one other thing—a quite simple question? Hydrogen, green and other colours, are now increasingly being…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Yes, but from everything you've said—. CCS, you've said, is not proven at commercial scale; where it is done, it has been done very expensively, it needs massive Government support. Electric arc is well proven; you've told us about the European examples, the…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Sorry, Jenny. It's only to come back just for clarity. From everything you're saying, in terms of the proven technologies and those that still need to be tested and commercial, let me ask you one straightforward question: electric arc is something you want to…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
I've got to say, you are being the consummate diplomat in your answers, and it's a credit to you, bearing in mind where the negotiations are at the moment with the UK Government. So, it's not a criticism, just an observation. But, could I ask you, putting…
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
Sorry, yes, £300 million.
, Climate Change, Environment, and Infrastructure Committee
Decarbonisation of the steel industry in South Wales - evidence session with Tata Steel
That would be really useful. Other colleagues will turn to issues of where this leaves us right at this moment, and how urgent the investment is, as well as how urgent the need for decarbonisation is, but one of the things you didn't touch on is where the gap…
