Community: The Union for Life

President, Congress, Alan Coombs, Community, speaking in support of the Composite.

Congress, climate change is the biggest challenge facing us today. Its reach is global and its impact can be devastating.

How we as unions respond is crucial.

But the Government also needs to respond. It needs to start implementing policies that enable the UK to meet its climate change and renewable energy targets.

I’m a steelworker at Corus in Port Talbot.

Steelworkers are all too aware of the impact of poor policy-making in this area.

But I believe that the steel industry and other energy-intensive industries can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem.

We can make the steel for the wind-towers; or the coated steel for solar-powered buildings.

But to be part of the solution, these industries need to be confident that government policy is made for the long-term.

They want to see a return on investment in new, green technology.

And to know that these efforts will not be undermined by carbon leakage – where steel, and other energy-intensive materials, will simply be produced in countries where there is little or no regulation of emissions.

At my steel plant I’m pleased to say that there has been substantial investment in new technology.

This has significantly reduced our energy consumption.

So we now make some of the greenest steel in the world.

All this could be undermined if governments around the world do not renew their efforts to make a binding, global, carbon reduction agreement.

Climate change is not an area where governments or the European Union can act alone.

In fact, we are opposed to unilateral action because we believe it will lead to carbon leakage.

Congress, it is vital we get this right.

It is vital to the recovery,

It is vital to our economy;

And it is vital to thousands of workers across the UK.

Please support thank you.