If there is one area in which this administration has failed most spectacularly, it is definitely the environment. From billboards declaring that the environment would become a priority, we have seen Labour administrations declare war on the environment in most ways possible.

That is why, on behalf of the Opposition, last year I proposed a bill to Parliament to enshrine the right for all those living in Malta to live in a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment as an absolute and sacrosanct right in the highest law of the country – the Constitution.

We cannot wait any longer, as the situation is growing worse by the day. We need to take action on a number of fronts, and the bill was designed to provide the necessary change in direction that would guarantee an improvement in the quality of our lives.

Air quality was one main area of concern, leading to hundreds of deaths in Malta due to air pollution and related illnesses. In fact, consensus in the scientific community exists that more than 250 persons had died prematurely due to this reason. This is not acceptable, and we need to send a strong message in this sense.

The same applies to the impending challenges of climate change. We know how our summers are getting hotter and hotter, while our winters are becoming dryer. Higher temperatures in our seas are also leading to drastic change in our marine ecosystem. We are already feeling the negative effects of climate change. We can no longer say it will happen in the future – it is already here.

A strong sense of direction is also required in the area of food security and production. The shortage of rural land, the increase in vehicles and unsustainable development is resulting in lack of food produce in Malta and unprecedented challenges to the agricultural sector.

The concerted attack on the environment in the past years has also resulted in great loss of green spaces. I have no doubt in my mind how this results in a negative impact on our quality of life. Over-crowding, noise pollution, air pollution and the never-ending traffic are all elements that are mentioned time and time again by everyone as prime contributors to loss of quality of life.

While development remains necessary, this cannot take place at any cost. The missing word - and I would like to stress on this point - is that development must be sustainable and done in the service of people rather than for the profit of the few. If our built environment reflects our society, we have very little to be proud of at the moment. Sadly the buildings we are producing, in their vast majority, are ugly expressions of greed and sadness. I wonder what historians will say about our decades when they study our architecture – I doubt they will be very kind to us.

We need to act today, as in some cases it has already been too late. Let’s save what still can be saved, by enshrining the right to the Environment, in Chapter Four of the Constitution, which is dedicated to Fundamental Human Rights of the Individual, being the only chapter which is enforceable by our Courts of Law.

This fundamental human right is already enacted in more than 150 countries around the world and is also mirrored in a number of international treaties, yet Malta has to date failed to adopt it in its national legislation.

There is no reason as to why this right should not be in our list of rights of our Constitution, when it is direly needed. We all deserve the right to live in a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. We will only ever have one Malta. Let’s look after it.

 

Dr Darren Carabott is the Opposition’s Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, Security and Reforms, and President of the Public Accounts Committee.