[WATCH] Metro is no electoral gimmick, Borg tells climate change conference

Cutting carbon emissions by 19% by 2030 will be a challenging task, environment minister Aaron Farrugia admitted at a national conference on climate change.

Malta was benefitting from a reduced target for carbon cuts after it sought permission from the European Commission, which had set an EU target of 36% by 2030.

Farrugia said half of Malta’s CO2 emissions come from transport. Government’s budget decision to introduce a generous electric vehicle grant of €12,000 was aimed at achieving price parity between internal combustion engine cars and electric ones, as soon as possible.

“Malta is the lowest emitter per capita compared to the other EU countries. I thank past administrations that eliminated the use of coal, and now we have transitioned from heavy fuel oil to gas,” Farrugia said.

He was speaking at the climate change national conference, which he called a celebration for an ecological transition.

“Although discussions had been held in parliament, no plans were presented to tackle climate change,” Farrugia said.

He said the Paris agreement in 2015 was a great achievement and that Malta had a target to become carbon neutral by 2050. “Time for discourse and romanticisation of the subject is over. Now after having held discussions with the experts, we have costed measures in place.”

He said that Malta is being assertive and will be present for the COP 26 (UN Climate Change Conference) next month.

Targets should not burden low-income earners

Simone Borg, Malta’s ambassador for climate change, said she was not afraid that Malta would not reach the targets, because there were legal consequences for not achieving the targets.

“We have to make sure that the Maltese citizen is not burdened and that there is social cohesion, so that low-income earners are not negatively impacted,” she said.

Borg called the 2015 Paris agreement a “huge success” that established a specific science-based objective, using a bottom-up approach.

She admitted there were various challenges, with climate being an intangible source and that science in the field was based on scenarios and predictions. “There is no world authority and it is very tricky to establish liability.”

Borg said it was pointless having treaties unless these are implemented on a national level. “The success of the Paris agreement relies on national efforts.”

She said that while the EU Green Deal put EU member states on a level-playing field, countries had to address socio-economic and environmental risks, and vulnerabilities involved in the transition.

“A new economic model should provide alternative and more efficient options. Leading change will unleash new jobs and business opportunities,” she said.

Energy Minister Miriam Dalli said Malta was taking its climate change challenge seriously, as shown a few months ago through the launch of the Low Carbon Development Strategy.

Malta is now deploying electric charging pillars that complement the favourable rates for electricity and grants for such cars. “Targets are not met through single actions but through the diversification of sources. The second interconnector will help balance the energy load and lead to a stronger electric grid that increases efficiency,” Dalli said.

She welcomed the Planning Authority’s permit for the hydrogen pipeline that would help the country make a bolder step towards decarbonisation. 

Individual responsibility

Transport Minister Ian Borg stressed on the importance of individual action, starting from the choices one makes every day. “The most important word in ‘climate change’ is ‘change’ – where every individual action will leave a mark,” Borg argued.

He mentioned four crucial measures for Malta’s challenge of sustainability, among them the move to car electrification, where he stressed the factor of voluntary action in taking up initiatives such as the electric car grant scheme; and free public transport. “Those that believe that everyone will stop using the personal car, after next October are mistaken. 72% of the Maltese choose to user their car and this is the highest rate within the EU.”

A national transport survey over the next 12 months will gather robust data to help government take decisions on bus vehicle numbers, routes and frequencies. “Climate change can be reversed by taking the audience and its cultures in consideration.”

Transport Minister Ian Borg (Photo: James Bianchi/MaltaToday)

The third pillar, Borg said, would be the investment in infrastructure of active transport, such as cycling, walking, and e-bikes; and said a mass transport system, the metro, would be the country’s fourth pillar. “The report and the studies that the country has put up for a national discussion were never an electoral gimmick. Will the project be sustainable or should we do the project at all costs? The discussion that the country needs is whether the major infrastructural projects within twenty years would have failed.”

“Behavioural change is most essential, as the citizen has to make changes like the reduction of personal car use.”