But it's also another big user of energy, and the carbon floor price will cost firms millions.

BBC: Industry warns carbon tax could cause huge job losses

His planned environmental tax, the Carbon Floor Price, will raise the cost of energy from fossil fuels.

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That could cost 600 jobs, and the company says the new carbon floor price is a factor as it uses large amounts of energy to produce the metal.

BBC: Industry warns carbon tax could cause huge job losses

The directive limits the number of hours they can operate before shutting down, and many coal plants are choosing to burn through their remaining permitted hours by April when the UK government introduces a carbon floor price.

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Various ways have been suggested, from setting a carbon floor-price to tightening the cap.

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He welcomed the decision to exempt NI from the carbon price floor - a tax measure that would have undermined the competitiveness of energy generators within the all-island market, he said.

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With the carbon market now flailing, Mr Brookes and others worry that national governments will increasingly introduce their own, competing climate policies, such as the UK's carbon price floor or the Dutch tax on coal.

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Mr Cameron's promise on March 18th to bring in an economy-wide floor price for carbon did much to revive his reputation for greenery, which had sagged as the economy slumped.

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Second, governments should not pick winners or give out extensive subsidies. (Translation: Ethanol is a bad idea, and other existing "renewables, " such as wind power, are unlikely to ever be more than a niche source.) Better to have a small carbon tax to place a price floor for competing technologies, and offer large cash prizes, similar to the X-Prize for private space flight, for specified energy breakthroughs.

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