Government and public authorities lack the will to take the necessary decisive action required to control pollution, especially that caused by energy and transport which accounts to around 80% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. This was stated by ADPD – The Green Party spokespersons when addressing a press conference this morning.

ADPD – The Green Party Secretary General, Dr Ralph Cassar, said that in this sector we hear a lot of empty promises from government, while in fact it does the bare minimum. The Prime Minister declared at the United Nations that Malta’s focus on the Security Council will be climate change. On the other had, Minister for Energy and the Environment, Miriam Dalli, boasts in parliament of the energy subsidies being handed out to all and sundry, even to those who waste.

In fact, successive governments have failed to lead the country towards greater energy efficiency and use of renewable energy sources. They did the bare minimum, negotiated low targets and talked the talk without walking the walk just to appear to be taking some sort of action. Pollution causes great harm to people’s health – even in this sector, while trumpeting the expenditure on health, barely anything is done to reduce the source of many illnesses: pollution. In the case of climate change, the fact that carbon dioxide is not a visible substance and does not immediately impact people, has meant that governments delayed taking any action as much as possible. In the energy sector, the cheapest and easiest paths always won the day, as in the case of the interconnectors, which were trumpeted as providing cheap electricity – that are no longer cheap due to the current geopolitical situation. Lack of vision galore!

Our country should have been emulating best practices from other countries and set its targets high. Ireland, for example, has a plan for its public sector to reduce its emissions by 51% by 2030. Instead of a serious plan, Malta has a National Energy and Climate Plan with low targets that many a times are vague and not ambitious at all. Our country’s target for renewable energy is risible: 11.5% by 2030. It needs to be at least quadrupled for it to be considered serious, ambitious and achievable with sustained effort.

The current targets should be revised immediately. We need to take action to invest in diverse clean and renewable energy sources. Years of discussion and studies on wind and wave energy generation have been ignored. What’s more, they are so clueless, that the NECP goes as far as proposing the heresy of road building and widening as one of the measures to combat climate change, exclaimed Cassar.

ADPD – The Green Party Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo stated that it was always evident that the investments in road infrastructure have failed to deliver the desired results with traffic congestion remaining a daily occurrence. In fact, traffic congestion is not the problem to be resolved but is the symptom of a greater problem: that of overdependence of private vehicles, developed over many years mainly due to the dire state of public transport. Studies carried out in countries abroad have shown that new roads or widening of existing ones did solve the problem – indeed, making it easier to use one’s own vehicle simply makes it worse!

ADPD has already highlighted how the subsidies on petrol and diesel are worsening the situation by giving the impression that the use of the private vehicle can go on unhindered even in a situation where the fuel prices are high. We reiterate that the current subsidies are not sustainable. It would have been more beneficial if the subsidies were only applied to those with mobility issues. We must continuously encourage the use of alternative means of transport, including public transport, while relying less on private vehicles.

Even the promotion of electric vehicles on its own is not a solution. We should still aim to have less cars on the road. The fact that the second interconnector with Sicily means that the country will become even more dependent on electricity generated abroad. And we all know what happens when the interconnector is damaged or is not functioning for whatever reason!

Although public transport is now free at point of use for those residing in Malta, this was not coupled with the necessary investment to improve the service and make it more efficient to encourage increased usage. It has been documented that around 50% of the trips made by private vehicles on our island take less than 15 minutes – trips that can easily be made through an efficient public transport or other means of sustainable mobility. It is evident that government and public authorities lack the will to take the necessary decisive action required to control pollution, especially that caused by energy and transport which accounts to around 80% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

“Our country needs to take the necessary action before it is too late”, concluded Cacopardo.

***

Nuqqas ta’ ambizzjoni dwar it-tniġġis, trasport u l-klima

Ma teżistix rieda min-naħa tal-Gvern u l-awtoritajiet pubbliċi li tittieħed l-azzjoni neċessarja u immedjata biex jiġi kontrollat it-tniġġis, speċjalment dak ikkawżat mill-enerġija u t-trasport u li huwa kawża ta’ madwar 80% tal-emissjonijiet tal-pajjiż. Dan qaluh il-kelliema ta’ ADPD – The Green Party meta indirizzaw konferenza stampa dalgħodu.

Is-Segretarju Ġenerali ta’ ADPD – The Green Party, Dr Ralph Cassar, qal li f’dan il-qasam ukoll minkejja l-ħafna retorika, l-gvern jagħmel l-anqas possibbli. Kellna lill-Prim Ministru li fil-Ġnus Magħquda jiddikjara li Malta se tkun qegħda tiffoka fuq it-tibdil fil-klima fiż-żmien li se tkun qegħda sservi fuq il-Kunsill tas-Sigurtà. U min-naħa l-oħra lill-Ministru tal-Enerġija u l-Ambjent, Miriam Dalli tiftaħar fil-Parlament bis-sussidji tal-enerġija li qegħdin jingħataw lil kulħadd, anke lil min jaħli.

Filfatt, kull Gvern li kellna ma tantx tħabtu  biex il-pajjiż jimxi lejn sorsi ta’ enerġija rinnovabbli u użu aktar effiċjenti tal-enerġija. Imxew bil-mod, kważi għax bilfors, biex jidhru li qed jagħmlu xi ħaġa. It-tniġġis jagħmel ħafna ħsara lis-saħħa tan-nies – iżda anke hawn, jiftaħru bl-infieq fis-settur tas-saħħa, imma jonqsu milli jnaqqsu drastikament is-sorsi ta’ ħafna mard: it-tniġġis. Fejn tidħol il-bidla fil-klima, peress li d-dijossidu tal-karbonju ma jidhirx u m’għandux effett dirett u immedjat fuq in-nies, allura l-Gvernijiet hawn ukoll tnikkru kemm felħu. Fl-enerġija, dejjem ħarsu lejn l-irħas għal dak iż-żmien, bħalma ġara fil-każ tal-interconnectors – li illum m’għadux  irħis minħabba is-sitwazzjoni ġeopolitika kurrenti. M’hemmx viżjoni.

Pajjiżna missu ilu li ħares lejn prattiċi tajbin f’pajjiż oħra li għandhom miri ambizzjużi. L-Irlanda per eżempju għandha pjan li s-settur pubbliku jnaqqas l-emissjonijiet tiegħu b’51% sal-2030. Minflok pjan serju ta’ din ix-xorta, għal pajjiżna għandna National Energy and Climate Plan mimlija miri baxxi, vagi u bla ambizzjoni. Il-mira ta’ pajjiżna fejn tidħol l-enerġija rinnovabbli hija waħda tal-biki: 11.5% sal-2030. Jeħtieġ li din il-mira tkun tal-inqas 4 darbiet akbar biex ikollna mira serja, ambizzjuża u li bi sforz serju tista’ tintlaħaq.

Il-miri eżistenti għandhom jiġu riveduti minnufih. Għandna bżonn azzjoni biex ikollna sorsi ta’ enerġija nadifa varji. Ilna is-snin niddiskutu dwar l-enerġija mir-riħ u l-enerġija mill-mewġ minkejja ħafna riċerka li saret baqgħet traskurata. X’jista’ jkun iktar bla sens li l-pjan jinkludi l-ereżija li l-bini u l-estensjoni ta’ aktar toroq bħala waħda mill-miżuri biex jikkumbattu l-bidla fil-klima?, temm jistaqsi Cassar.

Iċ-Chairperson ta’ ADPD – The Green Party Carmel Cacopardo qal li huwa diġà ċar li l-investimenti li saru fl-infrastruttura tat-toroq ma wasslux għar-riżultati mixtieqa u dan għaliex il-konġestjoni tat-toroq baqgħet magħna.  Fir-realtà l-konġestjoni ikkawżata mit-traffiku mhix il-kawża tal-problema li irridu niffaċċjaw iżda hi l-effett ta’ problema ferm ikbar: dik ta’ dipendenza żejda fuq il-karozza, dipendenza li żviluppat fuq numru kbir ta’ snin primarjament għax it-trasport pubbliku kien traskurat. 

Studji f’diversi pajjiżi oħra urew li l-iżvilupp ta’ toroq ġodda inkella t-twessiegħ tagħhom  ma solvewx din il-problema – għal kuntrarju, jekk tagħmilha iktar faċli li wieħed juża il-karozza privata tiegħu l-problema tiżdied!

Diġà kellna okkażjoni insemmu dwar kif is-sussidji li qegħdin jingħataw fuq il-petrol u d-diesel qegħdin ikompli jgħarrqu is-sitwazzjoni għax qed jingħata l-messaġġ li l-użu tal-karozzi privati mhix problema anke f’sitwazzjoni fejn il-prezz tal-fuel huwa għoli. Is-sussidju kurrenti mhux sostenibbli. Ikun għaqli li flok ma jkun hemm sussidju għal kulħadd ikun hemm biss sussidju għal min għandu problemi ta’ mobilità. Mill-bqija għandna kontinwament ninkoraġġixxu inqas użu ta’ karozzi u iktar użu ta’mezzi alternattivi ta’mobilità inkluż t-trasport pubbliku.

Anke l-pjan dwar l-elettrifikazzjoni tat-trasport hu wieħed difettuż. Waħdu mhu ser isolvi xejn. Anke dan irid iwassal għal tnaqqis ta’ karozzi mit-toroq. Mhux lakemm niftaħru li issa sejjer ikollna it-tieni interconnector ma’ Sqallija meta nafu li dan sejjer jagħmilna aktar dipendenti fuq l-elettriku iġġenerat barra mill-pajjiż. Nafu x’ġara kull meta kellna l-interconnector bil-ħsara jew għal xi raġuni ma ħadimx!

Minkejja li t-trasport pubbliku sar b’xejn, ma kien hemm l-ebda investiment biex dan jitjieb u jsir iktar effiċjenti biex jinkoraġġixxi użu akbar minnu. Huwa dokumentat li madwar 50% tal-vjaġġi li jsiru minn karozzi privati jieħdu inqas minn kwarta u li għalhekk jista’ faċilment jsiru minn mezzi ta’ trasport pubbliku effiċjenti jew forom oħra ta’mobilità sostenibbli. Huwa ovvju li ma teżistix rieda min-naħa tal-Gvern u l-awtoritajiet pubbliċi li tittieħed l-azzjoni neċessarja u immedjata biex jiġi kontrollat it-tniġġis, speċjalment dak ikkawżat mill-enerġija u t-trasport u li huwa kawża ta’ 80 fil-mija tal-emmissjonijiet serra.

“Pajjiżna għandu jieħu l-azzjoni neċessarja qabel ma tkun tard wisq”, temm jgħid Cacopardo.