The government’s climate advisers have criticised the way in which blast furnaces at the Port Talbot steelworks were closed, arguing that not enough regard was given to economic impact on the local area.
Tata Steel announced it was closing the plant in January 2024 as it struggled to compete with cheaper steel from China and Europe. This was just months after the government struck a deal with the firm to invest £500m in the plant to help it transition over to electric arc furnaces (EAFs) so it could produce low-carbon steel.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC), which provides climate change advice to the government, said the shift to EAFs alone will halve total emissions from industry in Wales.
Blast furnaces are infamously emission-intensive because of their reliance on fossil fuels, primarily coal, which emits far more carbon dioxide during combustion than other fossil fuels.
But in a report about the Welsh government’s efforts to meet its climate change obligations, the CCC said that...