Alternattiva Deokratika hosted Luxembourg Green MEP Claude Turmes, MEP, an energy expert who was awarded the European Voice MEP of the year award for garnering cross-party support in the European Parliament for ambitious targets to develop renewable energy.
A highlight of the visit was a meeting Calude Turmes, accompanied by AD MEP candidates Arnold Cassola and Yvonne Ebejer Arqueros had with activists from various environmental NGOs namely Friends of the Earth, Nature Trust, Birdlife, Ramblers'
Association, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, and Zminijietna – Voice of the Left.
NGOs expressed their concern that the consultation periods and process for projects is too short and hasty. The government's Committee on Climate Change did not include civil society and NGOs active on the issue. It was also pointed out that the government had promised closing down the inefficient and polluting Marsa power station twice,
in the 1990s when the Delimara power station was promoted as a replacement for Marsa and prior to the EU accession in 2004. The government promises were not honoured in both instances. This shows that certain declarations on the government's part cannot be taken seriously. NGOs also said that when they offered to conduct studies on wind farms the government did not take up the offer.
It is only now is governments saying that it will study land based wind farms when experts, NGOs and Alternattiva Demokratika have been calling for a roadmap and studies on land based wind farms, which are at least a third of the price of offshore wind farms repeatedly for years on end.
Claude Turmes said that the Maltese Government, like all other governments in the EU, will have to present detailed plans on renewable energy. He said that the renewables sector can create millions of jobs throughout the EU and also lots of job opportunities
in Malta. He said that AD's proposals for 50,000 solar water heaters for 50,000 families over the next 5 years and for 5,000 photovoltaic systems over the next 5 years for 5,000 families are a good step in the right direction. He suggested that the Maltese Government should do its utmost to attract investors in new technologies such as solar cooling, solar panels and other new technology as a way to tackle the energy crisis, combat climate change, help Malta and Gozo reach EU targets and also create hundreds of jobs in the process.
Michael Briguglio said that access to rooftops must be legally guaranteed if we want people to be able to invest in solar water heaters. He said that even with government subsidies thousands of people are prevented from taking the initiative simply because they are not guaranteed the space require to install such apparatus. AD spokesperson on sustainable development and local government Carmel Cacopardo called for MEPA to draw up a policy on micro-wind turbines and insisted that households and families should be incentivised to invest in new technology. He insisted that we have a mentality of going for huge projects when investment in lots of small projects – such as micro-generation from clean sources by individual households and industry will add up and have the same effect as one or two large projects with all the problems large projects bring with them.
Ralph Cassar
PRO - Alternattiva Demokratika
Attard