In 2008 Rio Tinto Zinc, owner of the Bluff aluminium smelter, and New Zealand Steel, owner of the Glenbrook steel mill, told government that their New Zealand businesses would become uneconomic if they had to pay for emissions when competitors overseas did not. The companies talked of ceasing to invest in and closing their New Zealand operations. Shown here is Ray Deacon of Rio Tinto Alcan NZ, talking to the parliamentary select committee considering climate-change legislation in 2008. In the background is Xiaoling Liu, president of Rio Tinto Alcan’s Primary Metal Asia Pacific region. A re-worked emissions trading scheme, introduced in 2009, substantially reduced industry responsibility and costs, and included a capped price for carbon units.