Editorial - August 25 2002

Expecting the worst

Next week, the World Summit on sustainable development will gather in Johannesburg. There will be long debates, eloquent speeches and hands on heart declarations. Malta will be there too, represented by at least two senior politicians. Many new horizons will be drawn up at Johannesburg, a week later it will be business as usual.

Malta has its own statement report on sustainable development, it makes interesting reading. What are missing are the precise solutions, the deadlines and their costs.

Nitty gritty regardless, Malta will be waving its flag on the side of the conscientious nations. The European Union and its candidate countries are among the more concerned of nations, the US and its satellites, the least.

In fact, one cannot expect any positive outcome of the Johannesburg conclave as long as the United States, under President George Bush, continues to treat environmental issues as peripheral.

In the last three years, the Maltese government has attempted to align itself as far as possible to European Union directives on the environment. EU standards are indeed very high. The Environment Chapter has turned out to be one of the toughest.

Unfortunately for Malta, there has been little or nothing done to finance the proposed environmental revolution. Indeed, the EU has been unrepentantly rigid in not raising a finger to help Malta reform. The EU goes by the book no matter what, or so we have been told.

Legalistic to the point of perversion: if it is true, that Malta will not be allowed to retain is present returnable glass bottle regime, the EU will be creating a massive waste problem which the same EU insists we must solve. It's free trade ideology against common sense.

There is no doubt that the other fundamental changes that need to take place will not materialise if the EU accession target is missed.

To say that the Maltese are fully capable of taking care of their environment on their own leaves out the questions of how, when and with what money.

It is estimated that in the next 20 years, up to Lm200 million will be needed to maintain the requisite waste management processes. That's apart from the Lm40 to Lm60 million that will be needed to set it up in the first place. That the EU continues to set deadlines and requests while it remains unwilling to fork out monies to accelerate those changes is baffling, and unacceptable.

In terms of numbers it will mean that an additional Lm12 million or an additional Lm100 of taxes per capita will have to be added to the taxpayer burden. If the waste issue is finally and appropriately resolved, many would be glad to pay.

Yet, with our present rate of consumerism it is highly unlikely that Lm200 million will suffice to cover waste management costs. Waste at source will continue to grow as our consumption patterns Westernise further.

In or out of the EU, this over-populated land has a problem that can no longer be ignored.