The government has a vision, a clear plan and concrete measures to move towards carbon neutrality and address climate change. Following a public consultation, the Long-Term Renovation Strategy (LTRS) and the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) have been finalised, and the latter will now be submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).
This was announced by Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Planning Aaron Farrugia during the National Climate Conference, which was also addressed by Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects Ian Borg, Minister for Energy, Enterprise and Sustainable Development Miriam Dalli, and Parliamentary Secretary for Construction Chris Agius.
Minister Farrugia said that Malta was one of the first to declare the aim to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. “International efforts against climate change are intensifying as we are moving towards the UN conference, COP26, in the coming days. We worked and put together strong strategic plans to lower our greenhouse gasses by 19% until 2030. Among these is the LCDS, through which Malta can implement its ambitious plan and do its part in the fight against climate change, as well as reach its aims in a way that does not negatively impact the vulnerable, and does not threaten our country’s competitiveness. On the other hand, through the European Green Deal, we also have the opportunity to diversify our economy through new economic niches. Malta is the lowest emitter per capita in the EU, and to move forward we have to acknowledge the positive that we have done. Because, while we have a lot of work in front of us, we need to keep in mind that we have very ambitious targets for our country, and that we have already achieved a lot,” Minister Farrugia said, adding that, today, we can also speak about a budget that is heavily focused on climate change, with numerous measures for energy efficiency and clean transport. “We also announced a number of environmental projects, afforestation projects, and projects to improve our natural and urban environment,” Minister Farrugia said.
“As the ministry responsible for transport in our country, we believe in this sector’s importance as well as in its strong potential to positively impact and contribute to our shift towards a more sustainable and clean country. As part of the LCDS, we based our work on four main measures, some of which are already being implemented, and through which we will continue to push on a national scale th government’s vision for sustainability, which will be materialised in the most natural way and with the least impact on the people as possible. We fully believe in the electrification of vehicles, and a very effective measure is the EU investment of €40 million, through which we will electrify the public transport fleet with a total of 370 vehicles. With the largest package of grants that our country has ever seen, we will continue to shoulder the costs to incentivise the switch to less polluting vehicles. In this way, we will continue to provide a shoulder for the people and work together towards more results so that our country is placed at the forefront of sustainability,” Minister Borg said.
Minister Miriam Dalli explained how the government is giving a clear direction to the country. “We are urging families, businesses, public and private entities to walk with us the path of decarbonisation.” Minister Dalli said that this work was bearing fruit, both by households which are further investing in renewable energy and energy-efficient appliances, as well as by the private sector which is investing in sustainability. “Only this week, we announced a multi-million euro investment in the expansion of a company which is operating in a carbon-neutral plant. The commitment of this government is to continue to support and incentivise this change,” said Miriam Dalli.
Parliamentary Secretary Chris Agius said that it is important to have residential and industrial buildings which are energy-efficient. This reduces consumption and automatically costs less, while also resulting in fewer emissions. Parliamentary Secretary Agius emphasised that the LTRS, which will now be implemented, will be crucial in encouraging renovation and the efficient use of energy. At the same time, it will be promoting the use of renewable energy. He concluded by saying that the government will continue to make a positive difference in our environment for Maltese and Gozitan citizens.
Photos: DOI, MECP
