October 07, 2008

Mr Mittal urges to link carbon emissions to import duties in EU

Reuters reported that Mr LN Mittal president & CEO of ArcelorMittal said import duties should be used to penalize China for its greenhouse gas emissions.

Mr Mittal said that Chinese steel mills emit on average twice as much carbon dioxide as plants in the EU, risking the relocation of mills out of Europe and the loss of jobs.

He said "The future emissions trading scheme must be linked to the EU's trade policy and mitigate any negative impact from imports from non carbon constrained countries.”

Mr Mittal also proposed a mechanism to include the steel sector on a global level in an emissions trading scheme.

The EU limits the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by industry or requires them to buy CO2 credits through a market.