Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi was presented yesterday with a report on how to reduce Malta’s carbon footprint.

The report, Towards a low carbon society; the nation’s health, energy security and fossil fuels was mainly authored by George Debono.

It delves deeply into the use of renewable energy and its conservation, the reduction of urban pollution due to road transport, promoting bicycle use, and the adverse effects on health by air pollution.

It advocates the reduction of the country’s dependence on fossil fuels, clearly spells out the adverse effects of transport-generated emissions on public health, including spreading of cardio-pulmonary diseases, asthma and lung cancer. It encourages the use of a more efficient public transport, walking and cycling.

Dr Debono’s love of the bicycle was evident as he cycled effortlessly up Girolamo Cassar Avenue towards Castille, where he was to present the report to Dr Gonzi. Yet, the way the police officer on duty reacted to Dr Bonello leaving his bike on the steps of Malta’s seat of executive power – telling him to remove the bike – speaks volumes about the country’s unfamiliarity with the two-wheeler as a credible means of transportation.

The report was presented by Martin Scicluna and Dr Debono, who expressed sadness at the lack of thermal insulation in Maltese houses which would lead to energy saving and cheaper energy bills. The exponential growth in the presence of cars in the country in the last 30 to 20 years, he said, has contributed to the increase in pollution. “Malta should go to basics,” he advised.

Dr Gonzi said wasting energy had negative impacts both on the environment as well as the economy. He quoted an OPEC spokesman who thought oil could reach $150 a barrel in a few months’ time. The rise in the price of fossil fuels, he said, affects one and all, from families to the country’s competitiveness. Malta, he said, needed a culture change in order to embrace energy saving.

The prime minister said the government will in the near future introduce a reform in car registration tax which would operate on the polluter pays principle. He pointed out that everyone tended to agree with the principle until asked to foot the bill.

The government was also studying the generation of energy from renewable sources and reiterated his commitment to having 10 per cent of the country’s energy needs originating from renewable sources by 2020, as requested by the EU as well as transforming Gozo into an ecological island by 2015.