Malta will miss 2020 climate protection targets without radical reforms, scientists warn

Maltese climate experts and scientists said Malta will fail to meet its own 2020 protection targets unless radical action is taken to restructure energy, food and mobility sectors.

In a statement signed by University of Malta academics and scientists, Prof. Maria Attard from the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development and Dr Stefano Moncada of the Institute for European Studies, and Islands and Small States Institute, called for action to be taken with technological innovations that can maintain quality of life without destroying natural resources.

“Young people are reminding politicians, in particular, of their responsibility to create the necessary framework to ensure this change happens now – even if this means being unpopular in the short term. CO2 prices, cessation of subsidies for climate-damaging actions and products, effective education campaigns, efficiency regulations supported by research and evidence, and social innovations have to be fostered rather than short-term and one-sided economic interests,” the academics said in their open letter.

Following up on Malta’s first-ever school strike for climate change, the academics called for an urgent and drastic reduction in Malta’s carbon emissions.

“The enormous mobilisation of the Fridays for Future/Climate Strike movement shows that young people have looked at the scientific facts and understood the situation; and are now demanding that politicians do likewise. As scientists and scholars, we emphatically approve their demand for rapid and forceful action.”

The scientists said young people deserved respect in calling for sustainability and climate action without further hesitation.

“Their concerns are supported by the best available science. As scientists and scholars who are familiar with scientific work and who are concerned about the current developments, we see it as our social responsibility to point out the consequences of inadequate action. 

“The business as usual scenarios for climate, biodiversity, forest, marine, and soil protection are far from sufficient. Only if we act quickly and consistently can we limit global warming, halt the mass extinction of animal and plant species, preserve the natural basis for life and create a future worth living for present and future generations.”