On the occasion of World Environment Day, Nature Trust (Malta), the environmental NGO, praised the efforts of the European Commission to launch a campaign on climate change, the efforts of the committee responsible for producing the National Allocation Plan for Greenhouse Gases, the support for afforestation projects and the progress done at Maghtab landfill.
Climate change is one of the main environmental issues at stake at present due to its far-reaching and wide spectrum of effects and impacts, the NGO said.
On our islands, due to decreasing rainfall and rising average temperature, climate change is expected to result in loss of our biodiversity and its habitats, both land and marine; rising sea levels which will effect our tourism industry; increased salinity of groundwater and other water management issues; changes in practices and needs in the fishing and agricultural industries and increased human morbidity and mortality from weather extremes such as flooding and heat waves.
The NGO called for decoupling of economic growth and emissions of greenhouse gases.
This negative trend, evident in the results available, means that economic growth is occurring at the expense of further polluting more environment and is at the base of climate change issues.
A main culprit for greenhouse gas emissions remains the way electricity is generated by Enemalta’s Marsa and Delimara power stations. The NGO said it disagreed with Enemalta’s “policy of choosing the technologies of its expansion phases by prioritising financial expenditure, and totally disregarding environmental and health impacts”. The results from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Children and the European Community Respiratory Health Survey show that the inland harbour area and the southeast of Malta are among the worst hit areas in eczema, hay fever and asthma sufferers in the European region. Additionally, incentives for citizens to buy energy-saving apparatus and commodities are a must in this scenario.
Transport-related greenhouse gas emissions have increased by 44 per cent in the decade 1990-2000 and now account for 20 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions. NTM noted that exhaust emissions checks by wardens has been introduced recently after years of lobbying, that some prominent mayors are in public wishful of converting the village cores into pedestrian areas and that some ministries are converting their transport fleets for use of biodiesel. On the other hand, NTM added that public transport is becoming less and less popular, catalytic converters in optimal working conditions are not an obligatory requirement and poorly maintained vehicles are still on the roads.
NTM urged all stakeholders to take heed of the European Commission campaign and launch various educational activities and initiatives that would be instrumental in changing consumer behavior and thus making options like car pooling, car sharing and walking buses a reality. Consumer choices are another main player in climate change issues. NTM, as the Maltese representative, will be taking part in World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)’s campaign on Climate Change.