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BlueScope Steel has welcomed a move by the Federal Government which will see hot rolling attract free permits under an emissions trading scheme.
About three million tonnes or more than half the steel produced each year at Port Kembla is hot rolled.
The chief executive of Steel Manufacturing, Noel Cornish, says the concession is in line with what other countries have proposed.
But Mr Cornish says Australian steelmakers still will not be able to compete internationally under the current scheme.
“In the last few weeks there’s been a very large breakthrough with the activity definition modified to include hot rolling for steelworks, that was a very positive step in the right direction and I’m happy to acknowledge the hard work done by all including the local federal members to make that possible,” he said.
Cogeneration funding
BlueScope Steel is also calling on the Federal Government to help fund a billion-dollar cogeneration plant at the Port Kembla steelworks.
The company says the plant has the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions, equivalent to taking 200,000 cars off the road each year.
The project is on hold due to the global financial crisis and the proposed emissions trading scheme.
Mr Cornish says the Government needs to find ways to encourage businesses to make large scale emissions cuts.
“The cogen plant can reduce greenhouse gases by one million tonnes per year which is very substantial but I think we need things like some tax incentives, maybe some accelerated depreciation or maybe some direct funding like what occurs for medium and small enterprise at the moment,” he said.