President Biden is facing new pressure to block US Steel’s (NYSE:X) acquisition by Nippon Steel (OTCPK:NISTF) (OTCPK:NPSCY), this time from environmental groups that say the deal would set back America’s efforts to curb climate change, The New York Times reported Friday.
Environmental activists told NYT the merger would bring together two steel giants that are laggards on transitioning away from fossil fuels, as both companies rely heavily on coal-powered blast furnaces and are on a slower path to transition to cleaner fuels than some competitors.
Three US Steel (X) facilities – in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Illinois – combine to emit more greenhouse gases in a year than a comparable number of coal-fired power plants, researchers said in the report.
The climate groups said a merger could keep emissions much higher at US Steel’s (X) coal-powered plants than they would be if the company were sold to a different buyer that is more committed to electrification and other advanced emissions-reducing technologies.
Biden administration officials have said the merger likely will be scrutinized by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, but some experts said it would be a stretch to block the sale of a U.S. company, on essentially economic grounds, to a competitor from a strong ally such as Japan, and blocking the sale over climate concerns would represent an even bigger hurdle.