Italy's Top Court Upholds Ilva Furnace Shutdown

Italy’s Supreme Court of Cassation upheld an order to shut down the blast furnaces at the former Ilva steelworks in Taranto, citing health and environmental concerns. The lower-court order required operations to stop unless asbestos is removed and particulate emissions are brought within safe limits. The decision complicates Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s efforts to rescue the country’s largest steelmaker and raises uncertainty for its roughly 8,000 employees, as well as plans to decarbonize the plant. It also clouds an ongoing sale process, with India’s Jindal Steel International and an Italian consortium among the interested parties.