Two Expert Groups Appointed by the Government to Advise on the Greening of Steel Plant Tata Steel Are Highly Critical of the Plans to Provide Aid to the Company. Accordance to them, not Enough Has Been Arranged to Improve the Health of Local Residents.
In The Vicinity of Tata Steel, The Giant Steel Manufacturer in IJmuiden, Residents Have Been Concerned about Their Health for Years. Research by the rivm shows that the factory actual causes more disease and shorter lives in the IJmond Region.
These Health Risks are mentioned in the letter of Intent That the Government and Tata Steel Signed On Monday. It States That the State Wants To Give A Maximum of 2 Billion Euros in Subsidies to Tata Steel to Become More Sustainable, But That The Company Must also Take All Kinds of Measures to Reduce The Emission of Polluting Substances. The Agreements Still Need to Be Worked Out Further.
Now, the Agreement Still Contains “Insufficient Guarantees for Health Gains”. This is Stated in an Advice from the Advisory Committee on Custom Agreements for Industrial Sustainability and the Expert Group on Health IJmond, which was also published on Monday Evening.
Goals are missing
The Groups Criticize the Lack of Stricter Goals for the Emission of All Kinds of Highly Concerning Substances and Ultrafine Partles. The Emission of Dioxin and Volatile Organic Compounds is Actually Increasing, “A Very UndeSirable Development”.
Health Improvement in The Area Should Be Included As A Separate Goal In The State Aid Agreements, Writes The Expert Group LED by Professor of Medicine Marcel Levi. Accordance to the Group, The Government Should Agree That Tata Steel Will Take Additional Measures If A Future Health Study Shows That There Is Insufficient Improvement.
The Two Expert Groups Have Been SpeciaLy Appointed to Advise the Government on the Greening of Tata Steel and the Impact of the Company on Health. They consist of, Among Others, Professors, Doctors, Lawyers and Directors from the Business Community.
Distrust in the Environment
Trust in Tata Steel is “Shaky”, The Experts Note. “This Distrust is Fueled by Various Experiences in recent years, Such as failure to comply with agreements made and violations of permits.” As a Result, the local environmental supervisor is just calling revoking an important permit from tata steel.
Accordance to the letter of Intent, the State can Pull the Plug on Further Talks With Tata Steel If the Company Does Not Comply With The Environmental Regulations Coking Gas Plant 2. According to the Greening Plans, This Will Remain Te End Of 2029 Not clearly substantiated why the factory cannot be closed earlier.
Tata Steel Still Has “Steps to Take” to Operate the Coking Gas Plant in Accordance with the Environmental Regulations, Director Hans van den Berg Acknowleded at a Press Conference On Monday Evening. “Trust is too low. That is one of the important things we need to work on.” Accordance to the top executive, His Company Wants To Be More Transparent to the Environment: “If we fall short, we will be open about it.”
Now, The Steel Manufacturer is Putting a Lot of Effort Into Legal Procedures Against Supervisors, The Advisory Groups Note. To Regain Trust, The Company Could Better Focus On “Concrete and Timely Solutions to Complaints”.
Jeroen Klumper, Director of Sustainable Transition at Tata Steel, Says He Takes The Experts’ Advice SeriOutly. “We will not only invest Heavily in Health Measures, but also Put a Lot of Extra Work Into the Final Agreement to Incorporate the Advice of the Expert Group.”
Prevent ‘Leakage’ to India
The Cabinet Advisors are more positive about some aspects of the Sustainability of Tata Steel. For Example, The State Pays Between 28 and 40 euros per ton of CO2 Reduction. “A Low Amount,” The Experts Note. Meanwhile, The Greening of Tata Steel Makes A Significant Contribution to the Dutch Climate Goals.
Also, the amount of subsidy is comparable to what other eu Countries Spend on Making their Steel Factories More Sustainable. And the Sustainability of Tata Steel Can Give a Major Boost to the Development of the Market for Green Hydrogen and Green Gas, which is struggling to get off the ground. If the Greening Succeeds, Tata Will Soon Be a Large and Stable Customer of Those Sustainable Energy Sources.
IT MUST ALSO BE Properly Stipulated that the Government subsidy does not disappear to the Parent Company of Tata Steel in India. The letter of Intent States That Such “Leakage” Must Be Prevented, But Without Going Into Detail.
Fear or ‘subsidy kick’
Of the 3 Billion Euros That Are Needed in Addition to the State Aid for Building the Green Steel Factory, The Indian Parent Company Invests 40 percent, Accordination to the Advisory Committee. The Rest Comes from Tata Steel Netherlands and from a European subsidy pot.
The National Government Still Needs to Study The Financing of the Plans for Green Steel, The Advisors Say. There are Still Uncertainties in this, and there is a risk that the government will walk into a “subsidy staircase”. This meant that tata steel not be able to stand on its own two feet after the greening, and will remain Dependent on state aid. Accordance to the experts, this needs to be looked at More Closely.
The Final Agreement Must also include Clear and Achievable Deadlines, As Well as “Clear Contheques” If thesis are not with. Accordance to the commission, a good example is a date on which the coking gas plant 2 must certainly be closed, even if the greening is delayed. “This sacrifices Clarity to Local Residents and Increases The Incentive for Tata Steel Netherlands to Realize the Investment in Accordance with the plan.”