UK industries pay world's highest 'carbon' costs

London – UK energy and climate change policies add more to its energy-intensive industries’ electricity costs than any other country’s analysed in a Government study.

The department for business report covered EU member states Denmark, France, Germany and Italy, as well as non-EU countries including China, India, Japan, Russia, Turkey and the US.

Energy-intensive sector studied included: iron & steel, aluminium, cement and chemicals - in particular: Chlor alkali, fertiliser and industrial gases.

One assessment of the impact of ‘carbon’-reduction policies on electricity prices (ref 2010), showed that UK industry would be paying £28.3/MWh more for climate change in 2020.

This was around double the equivalent rise faced by competitors in Germany and France, about three times more than manufacturers in China, while US companies were actually forecast to see a slight drop in costs.

“These figures should come as a wake-up call to the Government - the welcome support for energy intensives announced last year simply won’t go far enough,” said Katja Hall, chief policy director at employers group.

“It must help those companies most at risk from higher energy costs, and make provisions for them in its forthcoming Energy Bill.

“These are the companies which produce the materials we need to build technologies, like wind turbines, that will help the UK make the transition to a low-carbon economy.

“We do not need to choose between going green and going for growth and, if we get our policies right, all parts of the economy can benefit from doing more green business.”