Malta’s chronic failure to reduce carbon emissions is a direct result of decades of political negligence by successive governments, both Labour and Nationalist. According to a recent EU Commission report entitled “2025 Climate Action Progress report”, the country is now projected to be the only EU member state whose emissions in 2030 will exceed 2005 levels. This is not an accident, it is the cumulative effect of shortsighted, growth-obsessed policies that have prioritised profit over people and the planet.

ADPD-The Green Party Deputy Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo pointed out that for years, Malta’s governments have wrapped unsustainable economic expansion in a thin layer of green rhetoric. As a result we have ended up with an economy addicted to overdevelopment, a transport system choked by private cars, and an energy strategy still tethered to fossil fuels. PLPN have chosen to prop up speculative industries, construction, real estate, and online gambling, rather than confront the structural transformation our country needs.

These failures are not merely bureaucratic oversights but ethical and political betrayals. They betray future generations, who will inherit rising seas, degraded air quality, and a collapsing natural ecosystem. They betray the principles of European solidarity, as Malta’s inaction undermines the EU’s collective climate commitments. And they betray all residents in the Maltese islands who are already paying the price through extremes of temperature, flooding, and energy insecurity, energy insecurity, that is dependence on imported electricity and unstable markets.

Carmel Cacopardo said:”In contrast, ADPD’s Green Over Greed: Green Vision 2050 sets out a comprehensive roadmap for a wellbeing economy that places ecological limits and social justice at the heart of national policy. The ADPD document outlines how Malta can achieve zero-carbon by 2050, with a clear intermediate target of 50% renewable energy by 2030, driven by clean energy communities, investment in clean tech, and a shift to sectoral carbon budgets.

In contrast to the government’s Vision 2050, which subordinates the environment to economic growth, ADPD’s Green Vision redefines prosperity. It moves Malta beyond GDP, proposing tax reforms that reduce the burden on income derived from work while penalising resource waste and speculative capital. It prioritises sustainable industries, renewable energy, circular economy, green transport, and cooperative enterprises, over profit-driven sectors that pollute and exploit.

ADPD calls for the phasing out of fossil fuels, an end to land speculation, and the redirection of the construction industry toward regeneration, retrofitting, and energy efficiency. Stewardship of the environment, the ADPD document stresses, must replace the reckless commodification of land and sea. Real climate action means reducing demand for energy, not merely switching sources, and ensuring that public and private finance are aligned with sustainability goals.

Moreover, ADPD’s policy promotes a 15-minute city model, a shift to people-centred urban planning and design that reduces transport emissions by making communities self-sufficient. Its One Health framework integrates human and environmental health, recognising that clean air, green spaces, and sustainable food systems are as essential to wellbeing as hospitals.

ADPD insists that Malta cannot continue hiding behind rhetoric while failing to meet its EU obligations. Climate change is no longer a distant threat, it is a daily reality for our islands. The path forward demands courage, not complacency. It demands policies grounded in Green values, wellbeing, justice, and stewardship, not greed, speculation, and short-termism.”

It is time for Malta to choose: Green over greed.

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PR14/11/2025 Malta taqa’ lura fil-ħidma tagħha kontra l-emissjonijiet minħabba tkaxkir tas-saqajn matul għexieren ta’ snin.

Matul għexieren ta’ snin, gvernijiet suċċessivi, kemm Nazzjonalisti kif ukoll Laburisti qatt ma ħabirku sabiex nilħqu l-għanijiet tagħna li nrażżnu l-emissjonijiet tal-karbonju. Skont rapport reċenti maħruġ mill-Kummissjoni Ewropea bl-isem ta’ “2025 Climate Action Report Progress”, jidher li fis-sena 2030, Malta se tibqa’ l-uniku pajjiż b’emissjonijiet ogħla minn dawk tas-sena 2005. Din mhix xi kumbinazzjoni. Din hi frott ta’ miżuri mingħajr viżjoni fit-tul, miżuri li jagħtu biss importanza lit-tkabbir ekonomiku u li taw preċedenza lill-profitti akkost ta’ kollox minflok lin-nies u l-pjanetà.

Id-Deputat Chairperson ta’ ADPD-The Green Party Carmel Cacopardo saħaq li għal snin sħaħ, il-gvernijiet ta’ Malta taw lagħqa żebgħa ħadra lit-tkabbir ekonomilku mhux sostenibbli u l-ekonomija tagħna spiċċat maħkuma minn żvilupp esaġerat, sistema tat-trasport fgata bil-vetturi privati u dipendenza qawwija fuq fossil fuels. Il-PLPN għażlu li jagħtu palata lill-industriji  spekulattivi, bħal ma huma dawk tal-kostruzzjoni, propjetà u logħob tal-ażżard onlajn, minflok raw x’setgħu għamlu biex il-bidla strutturali li pajjiżna jeħtieġ isseħħ.

Dawn in-nuqqasijiet m’humiex sempliċiment  żvisti burokratiċi iżda tradimenti ta’ etika u ta’ politika. Jitradixxu ġenerazzjonijiet futuri li se jirtu pjanetà bil-livell tal-baħar dejjem jogħla, arja mniġġsa u ekosistemi naturali fi stat ta’ kollass. Huma tradiment tal-prinċipju tas-solidarjetà Ewropea għaliex in-nuqqas ta’ azzjoni tagħna jostakola l-ħidma kollettiva tal-Ewropa fil-ġlieda kontra l-bidla tal-klima. Jitradixxu ukoll liċ-ċittadini Maltin li minn issa qegħdin iħallsu prezz għoli minħabba temperaturi esaġerati, għarar u nuqqas ta’ sigurta’ ta’ enerġija.

Carmel Cacopardo żied:”Min-naħa l-oħra, il-viżjoni ħadra ta’ ADPD għas-sena 2050, Green over Greed: A Green Vision 2050 twasslilna strateġija għal ekonomija ta’ benesseri li tpoġġi l-ambjent u l-ġustizzja soċjali fiċ-ċentru tal-pjan għall-pajjiż. Id-dokument ta’ ADPD-The Green Party ifassal kif Malta tista’ tilħaq żero karbonju sas-sena 2050, filwaqt li tiġġenera 50% tal-enerġija minn sosrsi rinovabbli. Dan jista’ jintlaħaq b’investiment qawwi f’teknoloġiji nodfa, komunitajiet li jaħdmu b’enerġija nadifa u allokazzjonijiet ta’ karbonju lill-oqsma differenti.

Fid-dokument Vision 2050 maħruġ mill-Gvern ta’ Malta, l-ambjent huwa sekondarju għat-tkabbir ekonomiku. Min-naħa l-oħra fil-viżjoni ħadra ta’ ADPD, il-prosperità mhix biss ċifra ibbażata fuq il-prodott gross domestiku (GDP). ADPD tipproponi tnaqqis tat-taxxi fuq dħul mill-ħidma filwaqt li tikkastiga l-ħela u l-kapital spekulattiv. Tagħti prijorit lil industriji sostenibbli bħal dik tal-enerġija rinovabbli, ekonomija ċirkolari, transport sostenibbli, u ko-operattivi minflok lil setturi msejsa fuq il-profitti, li jniġġsu u jesplojtaw.

ADPD-The Green Party tappella sabiex gradwalment neliminaw għal kollox id-dipidendenza tagħna fuq il-fossil fuels u sabiex l-art ma tibqax suġġetta għal spekulazzjoni. Tappella sabiex l-industrija tal-konstruzzjoni tinbidel u tibda tippromwovi r-riġenerazzjoni ta’ bini eżistenti u ssaħħaħ l-effiċjenzja energetika. Hemm bżonn li nipproteġu l-ambjent tagħna minflok inkomplu b’mod irresponsabbli nittrattaw il-baħar u l-art bħala sorsi ta’ profitt. Ħidma favur il-klima ma tfissirx biss li nfittxu sorsi alternattivi ta’ enerġija. Tfisser ukoll li d-domanda għall-enerġija għandha titrażżan u li l-infieq kemm pubbliku kif ukoll dak privat iħaddan il-tir tas-sostenibbilita’.

ADPD-The Green Party tippromwovi bidla fl-ippjanar urban sabiex l-ibliet tagħna jkunu maħsubin għan-nies u mhux għall-karozzi. B’hekk, il-kommunitajiet ikunu awto-suffiċjenti u din tnaqqas il-bżonn u d-dipendenza fuq mezzi ta’ transport li jniġġsu. Dan hu l-ħsieb tal-mudell ‘15-minute city’. Il-qafas ‘One Health’ jgħaqqad is-saħħa ma’ ambjent b’saħħtu għaliex arja nadifa, spazji ħodor u sistemi ta’ ikel sostenibbli huma meħtieġa daqs kemm huma meħtieġa l-isptarijiet.

ADPD-The Green Party tisħaq li m’għadx fadal żmien sabiex inkomplu nistaħbew wara r-retorika u kliem sabiħ filwaqt li ninjoraw l-obbligi tagħna bħala Ewropej. Il-bidla fil-klima m’għadhiex xi theddida imbiegħda imma saret realta’ li jkollna nħabbtu wiċċna magħha ta’ kuljum. Ma nistgħux inkomplu nkaxkru saqajna. Hemm bżonn nuru determinazzjoni u ħeġġa. Hemm bżonn li jkunu l-valuri ħodor u ambjentali li jiggwidawna – dawk tal-benesseri, ġustizzja u l-ħarsien tal-ambjent. M’għadx fadal żmien għal rgħiba, spekulazzjoni u nuqqas ta’ pjanar fit-tul.”

Wasal iż-żmien sabiex pajjiżna jagħmel l-għażla tiegħu. L-għażla hija ċara. Green over Greed.