CEO Warns: Green New Deal Would “Devastate” Steel Industry

May 29, 2019

When you think of coal, the first thing you think about might be electricity or power plants.

While coal is a critical component of the United States’ energy supply, supplying around 30 percent of our energy, coal is about much more than just providing energy.

It’s a key input in a host of other industrial processes, the most notable of which is steel.

And the steel industry has a warning: if Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets her way and passes a “Green New Deal” that shuts down every coal mine in the country, our domestic steel production would collapse.

Fox Business reports, “The CEO of a major coal company is warning that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal would devastate the industry.”

During an appearance on Varney & Co, American Resources Corporation CEO Mark Jensen explained that “the coal industry is the essential key components to the steel industry… the steel that we produce is of the highest quality because of the coal.” Without it, Jensen warns, the safety of our country and citizens is at risk.

FOX Business explains that “Metallurgical coal is used to produce high-grade coal — a vital ingredient to the steel making process.”

This is another case of eco-extremists creating policy without considering the consequences. Amidst rising trade tensions with China, American steel is more important than ever. It’s the backbone of our military, our skyscrapers, and our auto sector. It’s one of the most critical industrial components we have, and the “Green New Deal” would threaten it.

2020 Presidential candidates that have backed the “Green New Deal” should answer how they expect the steel industry to thrive without coal. They’ll have a tough time coming up with an answer.

Steel has made America strong. Let’s keep supporting the steel industry by making sure America has inexpensive, plentiful access to coal.