No sooner had he settled down in his Castille office, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi put the environment on the top of his government’s agenda. This signalled the start of a string of initiatives aimed at turning the country green on all fronts. Undoubtedly, the budget for 2009 beats them all. It puts the environment as its main thrust.

I wouldn’t be honest if I do not express my disappointment at how our society had to reach a stage where conventional energy has become unaffordable to realise how important it is to go down a different route to the ones we have been taking for a long time. In truth, this also happened to the whole world, which did not realise that it had harmed the environment through the use of CFCs until the effects of global warming started being felt. However, since we cannot change the past, we should just move forward and control the damage as much as we can.

I believe the budget for 2009 will be opening the doors to more green initiatives, which could finally bring about a new culture. This way of thinking and living somehow has always been met by skepticism and a degree of resistance, not only by the people-in-the-street but also by industry, policy makers and some decision takers.

Certain comments aimed at ridiculing the party in government’s promise to distribute energy-saving bulbs are puerile and a reflection of short sightedness. This initiative, which will be costing some e4 million, is primarily aimed at increasing and spreading awareness among Maltese families as regards the energy saving measures one can take. It will be absurd if we just change the bulbs the government will be paying us for! It’s not the aim of this initiative. Its scope is to bring about a change in culture and that we start doing what we should have started doing a long time ago.

This also applies to the 15c charge the government is also introducing on the use of plastic bags. Minister Tonio Fenech was right in declaring that the government does not want these 15 cents. What it wants is for Maltese consumers to start doing what they should have done a long time ago – do away with plastic bags when they go shopping by using alternative bags or containers. Plastic which is not bio-degradable (and we should know that most of the plastic bags we are being given are not) damages our environment.

The government is taking a number of initiatives which should lead to a culture change and a greener mentality. The government has now introduced a scheme aimed at helping families install solar water heaters in their residences. 4,500 stand to benefit from this scheme which will assist them in buying this equipment by forking out two-thirds of the cost up to a maximum of e460. Through another scheme, the government will also be supporting those families who decide to install photovoltaic panels which generate energy from sunlight. The government will be forking out 50 per cent of the cost of these panels.

Industry will also be assisted in the changeover to alternative sources of energy. Eleven companies have already been helped so far. A further e10 million have now been invested which should see this number go up to 1,600. Local companies will also get financial assistance to carry out energy audits.

It pays to turn green. Government ministries which decided to lead by example by applying the use of alternative energy in projects piloted by them, are experiencing this for themselves. Lately, I tabled a parliamentary question enquiring about the money saved by the Education Ministry through the use of water solar heaters, photovoltaic panels and water reservoirs at the newly-built secondary schools in Kirkop and Qormi. The secondary school at St benedict’s college saved e4,297 in electricity in two years and e39,240 in water bills over three years. The secondary school at St Ignatius College saved e1,844 in electricity and e13,494 in water consumption in one year.

The government has also announced the first offshore wind farm in Malta in an area know as is-Sikka l-Bajda. It is estimated that this wind farm should supply electricity to 21,000 households. To do this the government will be involving the private sector, which is expected to invest e130 million in this project. Hopefully, if this project is successful the government and the private sector could work together on similar projects which ultimately could help the Island be less dependable on conventional sources of energy.

I truly believe that money should not be the only prime mover of these changes. We need to be convinced that this is the only sensible way forward for the benefit of our families, our country and of the whole planet. We can no longer afford to dismiss talk of clean and alternative energy as the talk reserved for environmentalists. We have to make them part of our daily language as well. Ultimately it pays.

Charlo’ Bonnici is a Nationalist MP

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