The UK government has agreed to provide long steel producer British Steel a loan worth ?120 million ($156 million) to cover the annual bill from the EU for the company's carbon emissions, government business secretary Greg Clark told the UK Parliament on Wednesday May 1.
"British Steel approached my department earlier this year to explain that the absence of the expected 2019 free allowances left it unable to comply with its 2018 obligations [to the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme]," Clark said.The ETS involves "allowances" or "permits" for emission levels. These are usually auctioned or allocated to European industrial operators by national governments in the EU in February of each year. Each free permit allows a company to emit 1 metric tonne of carbon dioxide.The ETS also allows European industrial operators to use these carbon emissions permits to pay for their previous...