Carbon taxes are killing business says Ratcliffe

INEOS boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe has warned the UK’s carbon policy is pushing heavy industry to the brink, calling on government to rethink its approach before more plants shut down.

The Chemical Engineer reports the businessman believes carbon pricing is leaving British firms at a global disadvantage.

We are calling for a rethink. Not to walk away from climate goals, but to pursue them in a way that allows British businesses to lead the transition.

“Give us competitive energy costs, give us the incentives to invest in new assets and to play our part in building a strong sustainable industrial future.”

Sir Jim Ratcliffe

His comments come as INEOS Grangemouth is hit with a £15m carbon tax bill under the UK’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

The charge covers 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emitted last year from the power and steam unit supplying INEOS’s chemicals site in Scotland.

Ratcliffe said the cost is “another heavy blow” for the site, on top of US tariffs and soaring energy bills.

He warned it will force a pause on efficiency investments designed to cut emissions.

The Grangemouth refinery – in which INEOS is a joint venture partner – has stopped refining this week leaving unions and the Scottish government criticising Labour’s green strategy.

Earlier this month, the Chemicals Industry Association flagged that UK industry is paying 400% more for energy than the US and double the European average – a burden that’s eroding the sector’s competitiveness.

“You only have to look at British Steel at Scunthorpe to see the impact of an uncompetitive energy policy forcing the government to spend taxpayers’ money on a rescue package,” Ratcliffe said. “We need action before we get to that stage.”

The UK government has pledged £200m to convert the site into a green industrial hub – but Ratcliffe’s fresh warning, in the same week Tony Blair said net zero policies were doomed to fail, suggests more pain is on the way unless ministers shift course.