Politics carries a good deal of positive and negative moments. It’s a package which truly exerts pressure on the bounds of reason, emotion and the understanding that a day only bears 24 hours. Yet sometimes, only sometimes, it opens the door to moments so intense that one can only be grateful for being in the thick of the action.
Last Friday presented me with one of those moments.
Surrounded by children from our Ekoskola initiative, my colleague George Pullicino and I had the unique opportunity to launch the government’s energy efficiency campaign entitled “Switch... to energy efficiency.”
The children, huddled around us beneath a tent on a cold and rainy Friday morning in front of the law courts, were their useful self: sharp, concentrated and passionate in the way they addressed the questions presented to them by a good team of animators. I must admit that I was somewhat prepared for their reaction, having already consulted with children in the run-up to the upcoming local council reform. Yet their impressive awareness of what energy efficiency is all about made everyone present easily put aside their angst at the inclement weather, making the event one of the most enjoyable and most insightful I’ve been to since becoming a parliamentary secretary.
The writing is clearly on the wall: we waste far too much energy. And most of it is the direct result of a lack of knowledge and understanding of what constitutes waste and inefficient use of energy. Yet it is also the government’s duty to provide all the necessary tools which are required for energy to be utilised in the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner.
This is what the Switch campaign is all about. The government has promised to reach each and every household and to provide families with the necessary knowledge on how to increase efficiency in the way we use energy through small yet important changes in the way we go about our daily life.
The campaign calls for a switch in our approach to energy in general. It makes a clear distinction between simply reducing the amount of energy we use and making efficient use of our energy supply. Let’s be very clear: energy efficiency is not about sacrificing our way of living; neither does it entail forgoing the quality of what we do. On the contrary, it implies maintaining our daily activities, but at a lower energy cost.
Take a television set, for example, which is known to waste 25 per cent of electricity while on stand-by. By simply switching off the television set from the main supply, we would be able to maintain our level of activity at a lower cost.
The road to energy efficiency therefore doesn’t oblige us to perform miracles. It’s not about sacrifices either. We’ll still be able to watch our favourite programmes. However, by switching off our computers, mobile chargers, DVD players, television decoders, and so on, we could reduce our energy consumption considerably. This is why energy efficiency calls for a change in mentality.
If we emulate the practise of switching off items in all other aspects of our daily lives, therefore finding pockets of activity where energy can be exploited more efficiently, the first and most obvious advantage we’ll experience, both in the short and long term, is a reduction in our electricity bill. And these small changes can easily be reproduced in our small family businesses or at the workplace.
An energy efficient lifestyle also leaves a positive impact on our environment. By making better use of energy, we invariably lessen the pressure we place on our power plants, thus also reducing the intensity of emissions released into the atmosphere. Fewer emissions translate into better air quality and thus less incidences of asthma among our children, and a lower occurrence of different forms of cancer in adults and children alike, among a plethora of diseases and negative effects. These all influence our quality of life.
If we all take small steps towards an energy efficient lifestyle we can collectively leave a large impact on the global amount of energy utilised.
Local councils have a very important role to play in this campaign. Being the closest link to the residents of our localities, I promise to address all my energy towards passing the ownership of the Switch campaign to local councils since I truly believe that the success of this campaign hinges on the provision of a clear and consistent message to all those who are willing to listen. The participation of local government will also ensure a more realistic implementation and attainment of the concept of sustainable localities.
It is with this eye on clarity that I personally thank all those who are contributing towards the campaign, including the different printed, television and radio stations and companies which have lent a hand to this campaign without requesting a penny in return. I would also like to thank the seven prominent personalities whose faces we will see splashed everywhere for being “switch” ambassadors. Together we can ensure a concerted effort and a common voice. The collective outcome will benefit each and every family, and the country as a whole.
Chris Said is parliamentary secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister