Education, regulation, investment in environmental facilities and the correct use of environmental economic instruments are the four main measures that will safeguard the environment while not stifling economic growth, Parliamentary Secretary in the Finance Ministry Tonio Fenech said yesterday.

Mr Fenech was speaking at a ministry conference organised in collaboration with the Malta Environment and Planning Authority (Mepa), entitled The Polluter Pays Principle.

He pointed out that economic growth achieved through damage to the environment was a problem that should be, and is, on the agenda of all industrialised countries.

“This type of economic growth cannot be called progress. Instead it should be considered as a waste of assets that are needed, in the long term, for humanity to survive,” said Mr Fenech.

However, he added, stopping economic growth was not an option.

Instead, said Mr Fenech, it would be ideal to separate these two aspects in a way that economic growth would not have a negative impact on the environment but would actually contribute to its preservation.

The parliamentary secretary said it was not an easy situation.

“While the economic growth of a company is identifiable with its owners, it is not the same where the environment is concerned,” he said.

Malta has made great leaps in increasing its economic growth while safeguarding the environment, especially since its membership of the EU, said Mr Fenech.

EU environment laws were implemented through a number of regulatory measures, public investment in environmental projects and educational campaigns, he added.

Mr Fenech pointed out that Malta has made good use of environmental economic instruments – through eco-contribution and subsidies on energy-saving devices, among others.

While environmental economic instruments ensured that the polluter paid, it was important to ensure that they did not create unjustified social burdens on those who could not shoulder them, he said.

Furthermore, said Mr Fenech, care must be taken not to unsettle the country’s economic activity when these were introduced.