Sustainable energy is the focus for this year’s World Consumer Rights Day being celebrated today. In a message for the occasion, Competitiveness and Communications Minister Censu Galea said that the issue of energy provision affects people the world over.

World Consumer Rights day is an annual occasion for celebrating the international consumer movement, he said.

The day’s activities focus on the eight basic consumer rights – access to basic goods and services, to safety, to choice, to information, to representation, to redress, to consumer education and to a healthy environment.

The major objective in observing World Consumer Rights Day is to facilitate discussion among the public and to collaborate and hold discussions with other relevant agencies and stakeholders, the minister added.

The chosen focus topic this year is sustainable energy. Minister Galea said that the provision of energy, unsustainable consumption and its impact on the future of the planet is one of the biggest challenges facing today’s world.

He further said that while people need easier access to energy sources, the world as a whole needs to protect the supply for future generations. Mr Galea said that more sustainable methods of energy production may be discovered through research.

“The public should also be encouraged to save energy while incentives could be offered to heavy energy users, to reduce their consumption.”

Mr Galea said that the liberalisation of the market and Malta’s EU membership were beneficial for the consumers. “It is now up to us to know our rights and make informed decisions when purchasing a product or a service,” he said.

The 7,500 inquiries being handled by the Consumer Division per year are a clear indication that the Maltese people are becoming aware of consumer rights, he added. However, he noted that there are some areas the consumers are still not fully aware of.

“For this reason, the Consumer and Competition Division will continue its various information campaigns throughout the coming months which will be aimed at making consumers aware of their rights when purchasing products and services,” Minister Galea concluded.