Group running UK’s largest steel plant says it wants agreement with government on help with emissions

The owner of the UK’s largest steelworks, Tata Group, has threatened to shut down operations if the government does not agree in the next year to provide £1.5bn of subsidies to help it reduce carbon emissions.

Tata Steel UK runs the Port Talbot plant and employs nearly 8,000 people across all its operations. As one of Britain’s largest industrial groups it is among the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide. Executives have been in talks with the government about decarbonisation plans, but discussions have stalled.

“A transition to a greener steel plant is the intention that we have . . . But this is only possible with financial help from the government,” Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chair of Tata Group, told the Financial Times.

“We have been in discussions over the last two years and we should come to an agreement within 12 months. Without this, we will have to look at closures of sites,” he said.