The municipalities of IJmond choose together A message from yesterday Attack when it comes to the future of Tata Steel IJmuiden. They are just a small player in the layered network of government, regulators, the steel giant itself and its parent company from India. But he is a player with knowledge of the current situation and a clear idea of how to do things during and after the company’s sustainability efforts. Yesterday, municipalities demanded their place at the table with the adults.
“If Tata Steel’s sustainability efforts succeed, we will have a fantastic, very innovative company here in IJmuiden,” Velsens board member Jeroen Verwoort enthusiastically paints a bright picture for the future.
Sitting in front of a handful of reporters, at the press conference about The letter sent this afternoon to the party leaders in the House of Representativesone day before installing it.
Next to him are two other members of the municipal council: on the one hand Brigitte van den Berg van Beverwijk and on the other hand Ad Schoorl van Heemskerk. With combined forces, they yesterday demanded their place at the discussion table about the future of Tata Steel, which is located on the lands of the three municipalities.
It is its inhabitants, the people of Velsen, the Beverwijkers and the Heemskerkers, who work in the 105-year-old Hoogovens, suffer from it or are simply accustomed to it. However, municipalities have little say in the matter ambitiousAnd Also risky Sustainability plans, which would make the company almost completely clean by 2045.
Tata Steel: Continue like this, closure or option three?
Municipalities may not have much to say, but they have a lot to lose if greening efforts fail. The municipalities of Egmond have recently examined how they see the future of Tata Steel in the region.
“Tata Steel cannot continue as it is now, it is simply not possible,” Van den Berg, the Beverwijk councillor, raises his finger in the air. “Close? Not an option either,” she said as her finger rose into the air.
Then the third finger: a successful greening effort, which means that nearly ten thousand people will keep their jobs and perhaps the greenest steel company in the world will be located in Ijmeden.
Council members see this as the only option left: the train is already on its way, and now they would rather jump on it.
Indian owner
Will it be easy, fast or hassle-free? Of course not, they know. Chancellor Schoorl van Heemskerk: “Would it be easier, for example, if we could talk to the Dutch bosses of Tata Steel instead of the Indian bosses? Yes, but that is the case, we have no influence on that.”
Difficult requirements
So Felsen, Beverwijk and Heemskerk focus on things they have influence over, they say. Starting with their letter from yesterday. If the government soon sits down with Tata Steel to come up with so-called tailored agreements on permits, health and possible financial support, the municipality would like to participate. With its own requirements which were stated in the letter.
So far, Tata Steel IJmuiden, for example, has only made statements about the first part of the greening plan. The company must eliminate half of its coal production by 2030. But the other half of the plan remains silent. Municipalities now want the company to phase out coal by 2035 and adhere to World Health Organization requirements on air quality.
prestige
Van den Berg: “It’s beneficial for everyone to have a seat at the table. We have local knowledge that the government doesn’t have. Some people in Egmond are bothered by noise, others by smells. We know where they live. These are the kind of people with knowledge you can coordinate your plans and make a difference.”
If Tata Steel’s greening efforts ultimately succeed as the municipalities have in mind, they will not only ensure the preservation of many jobs and a cleaner living environment. Verwoort looks further: he is also creating a niche in IJmond, and he likes this idea very much.
Verwoort, beaming: “Then we have wind turbines at sea, we are the green plug of the country, and one of the largest steel companies in the world is located here.”
