EU warning on air pollution plan shows government doesn’t prioritise quality of life - AD

Alternattiva Demokratika says EU’s warning to Malta on failure to adopt national air pollution control programme shows the government doesn’t consider citizens’ quality of life a priority

The EU's warning to Malta, on its failure to adopt a national air pollution plan, shows the government doesn't care about quality of life, Alternattiva Demokratika said
The EU's warning to Malta, on its failure to adopt a national air pollution plan, shows the government doesn't care about quality of life, Alternattiva Demokratika said

Malta’s failure to meet the EU deadline to implement a plan to control air pollution shows the government doesn’t consider quality of life for the country's citizens to be a priority, Alternattiva Demokratika said.

AD was reacting on Saturday to a formal warning issued to Malta by the European Commission for missing an April 2019 deadline for member states to adopt a national air pollution programme.

The warning was issued through a letter of formal notice, which was also sent to Romania and Greece. It gives Malta two months to reply, adopt and communicate its plans for reducing national emissions of certain atmospheric pollutants.

To date, the draft pollution plan has only been issued by the government for public consultation, despite the deadline for it to be submitted to the Commission had elapsed ten months ago, AD said.

The draft plan itself was weak and lacked effective measures to reduce emissions, the party highlighted.

“Not only is government procrastinating, on top of that the draft plan, published long after the deadline for submission to the Commission, is weak and does not contain effective measures to reduce toxic gas emissions,” AD secretary general Ralph Cassar said.

“NOx gases, emitted in urban areas by cars, cause respiratory diseases. Current emissions stand at 4.9 kilotonnes, more than double the limit of 2 kilotonnes. The draft report unashamedly proposes that the emissions are cut to just 4.5 kilotonnes. How does government expect to be taken seriously when it proposes maintaining emissions at more than double the limits? 41.7% of NOx in Malta is emitted by vehicles with the rest emitted by various sources of combustion of fossil fuels,” Cassar highlighted.

Party chairperson Carmel Cacopardo noted that AD had been making proposals on how to tackle pollution “for years on end.”

He underlined that there was a need to greatly increase the pace of switching to renewable energy sources, such as sun and wind power. Despite this, Transport Minister Ian Borg persists in “making sure that more and more traffic is induced, with the resulting increase in pollution.”

"We want to see a drastic reduction in car dependency. We want zero-emission, massive pedestrianisation, space on roads reserved for public transport and a Bus Rapid Transit system. We want bicycle superhighways connecting localities in Malta and Gozo,” Cacopardo said.

Cacopardo added that pollution from ships are had to be tackled. "It is positive that government has plans to introduce shore-to-ship electricity supply in the Grand Harbour. We urge government to introduce shore-to-ship electricity also at the Freeport. Air pollution needs to be addressed effectively all over our country,” he said.