5. Statement by the Minister for Economy: A greener economy

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:08 pm on 2 November 2021.

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Photo of Vaughan Gething Vaughan Gething Labour 5:08, 2 November 2021

I had the opportunity to visit the steelworks in Port Talbot with the constituency Member who is now in the Chair in this particular session. I've had conversations not just with that company but with the other major steel producers in Wales directly about what they are looking to do, because they recognise that there is an imperative to decarbonise the way that steel is produced. There's a challenge and an opportunity and that's why I keep on talking about a just transition. Because you could decarbonise the way that steel is produced and you could do so in a way that doesn't cost lots of jobs, or you could decarbonise the steel sector and you could see significant loss of employment. But every company is looking at how it looks again at its processes, how it looks at what it sees as unfair competition, which is why I think the point that Jack Sargeant made about the deal between the United States and the European Union is important. When you hear President Biden talk about wanting to do something about dirty steel and steel being dumped, that's something that steelworkers and people who run those steel businesses will recognise, and there's a key challenge there to make sure that we have competition that is on a level basis with a shared ambition to see decarbonisation in that sector but does not allow other steel products that have a higher carbon footprint being used in the sector here as well. Because I recognise that steel is important for the future, not just in how we generate future sources of power, but in construction and a wide range of other areas too. So, I'm very clear that steel must have a significant future in the economy of Wales and the wider UK.