EU steel industry becoming greener, says Liikanen
The European steel industry has successfully decoupled output and environmental impact, Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Erkki Liikanen said at a round table on lessons to be learnt from the European Coal and Steel Community in Luxembourg on 27 June. He said: 'As the Commission's Competitiveness Report for 2002 shows, over the past 20 years, on most indicators EU manufacturing has achieved an absolute decoupling of its environmental impact from its output. This means that, while output has climbed, its actual impact on the environment has fallen.' He added, however, that the industry remains an important emitter of carbon dioxide, accounting for around 30 per cent of industrial emissions of the gas in the EU. Mr Liikanen said that increased automation and increased use of information and communication technologies will help to further boost the industry's performance. He added: 'Developments in product innovation have brought notable progress. Europe's steel industry has continually improved the quality and performance of its final products to meet the rapid changes demanded by its customers.'