MPs have agreed to a €2 billion subsidy package for Tata Steel in IJmuiden on the condition that ministers make firm agreements about cleaner production.

The company itself has pledged to put €4 billion into cleaner techniques, including a switch from gas to hydrogen-powered blast furnaces. Carbon emissions – currently 10% of the Dutch total – must also be sharply reduced.

The IJmuiden factory, which has a workforce of some 11,000, has been fined several times for its illegal emissions, and public health institute RIVM has published several reports about the impact on the health of locals.

The agreement to help pay for cleaner production was struck last autumn between the previous cabinet and Tata’s Indian owners.

Left-wing parties and Volt voted against the plan, with Volt’s leader Laurens Dassen pointing out that over 100 economists had recently warned about the proposal. They argue the planned support would be “economically inefficient and risky”.

But the plan was backed by parties on the right and far right, ensuring majority support. They argue that the plant is an important employer.

BBB leader Henk Vermeer said during the debate that a country “cannot function on forestry commission workers and account managers alone”.

Climate and green growth minister Stientje van Veldhoven told MPs that the initial agreement was “too soft” in some of its conditions, but said the deal is only a “step in the process”.

She also welcomed news that the company is considering closing two highly-polluting coke plants, rather than just one, as chief executive Hans van den Berg told the Volkskrant on Tuesday.