When it comes to making the right proposals and tuning in to the needs of the electorate, consistency is key for those proposals to be credible. One may argue that it is no use shooting the messenger, but in the case of political action, the messenger is also the politician.
This article has been prompted by the fact that the Nationalist Party has suggested a Parliamentary Committee for Climate Change Emergency. It is typical for the Nationalist Party to imitate a strategy proposed by the faster moving Democratic Party and, in fact, I was the first political voice in Malta – through the Democratic Party – to urge the declaration of a Climate Emergency. I support the concept as put forward by the Nationalist Party but, as always, the risk of applauding positive measures made by questionable people is that, once they are in power, they will not honour their positive commitments.
It is a classic stereotype, after all, for politicians to renege on their promises. Trusting the wrong messenger, even when he has the right message, may mean that what is promised may never be delivered at all. While the Amazon burned because of President Bolsonaro’s policies, there was a concerted push across Europe to block the EU-MERCOSUR trade deal. This threat was designed to rein in President Bolsonaro and prevent him from further destroying the Amazon.
The Nationalist Party’s approach to this proposal was, as is often the case, in favour of trade rather than the environment. A Nationalist Party spokesman was quoted as saying: “Whilst appreciating political positions taken within the G7 Summit, the PN is not of the opinion that voting against the EU-Mercosur is of any advantage.”
As always, I caution people to pay attention to not only what is being said but to what is not being said. Politicians will often promise something that sounds nice, only to use it as a smokescreen to cover up the fact that they are doing something terrible at the same time, or not taking action where it really counts. ‘Greenwashing’ is a popular term for this sort of strategy, where politicians promise environmental measures that are, at best, cosmetic and it is a proud tradition of the Nationalist Party and the European People’s Party of which it forms a part in the European Parliament.
The Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe published a report in which the European People’s Party, currently hosting two Maltese MEPs, was very close to the bottom of the rankings for parties in the European Parliament, implying that they are acting as ‘dinosaurs’ who have not yet grasped the need for action against climate change and as such prevent others from doing more. This trend was made very clear during the European Parliamentary elections, where Manfred Weber promised to cut down on the worst offending examples of single-use plastics across the European Union.
For anybody in the know, that is a clear signal that he does not intend to tackle more serious problems related to actual climate change but to merely distract people with the lower-hanging fruit of plastic waste. As the Spitzenkandidat for the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber would have been a disaster for the planet, had he survived the negotiations for the dishing out of top European jobs.
Trusting the wrong people who make nice-sounding promises means that nothing gets done. It is the consensus amongst climate scientists that world governments have not yet realised the full implications of the climate crisis. Feedback loops could legitimately lead to the ruin of civilisation and most life on this planet: they are the processes which, once set in motion, lead to exponential warming with humanity being unable to stop it.
Once a tipping point is reached – and that point is close – we are facing a planet which can barely sustain a couple of billion people at the very most. In the face of this disaster, we should be open to every strategy and possibility to avert collapse, including nuclear energy. We need to take radical political action against corrupt global corporations, cliques and private interests who are spending enormous amounts of money to muddy the science and distract attention away from real solutions.
The world’s 50 biggest oil companies are currently planning to flood markets with an additional seven million barrels of oil per day over the next decade and scientists are warning that this will force global heating to catastrophic levels. It is surely a strategy on the part of the oil companies to keep oil prices low enough to out-compete renewable energy alternatives, preventing them from replacing fossil fuels.
Are our political parties in Malta – either Labour or Nationalist – really doing anything about this crisis? All the right words may be said but, up until now, much of it sounds like greedy ‘oinking’. Malta, as a small island state, will be particularly affected by climate change, so if we must be self-interested rather than self-sacrificing, then let us look after our own welfare by saving the planet. So, where do we go from here? Despite pressure from activists for Malta to reach its Paris Climate Accord targets, Malta’s greatest strength remains its diplomatic clout on the world stage and in the European Union. Let us not forget that Guido de Marco was elected President of the 45th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1990, placing Malta in a leading position in the world.
We have always been at our best when we have brought others together, despite the fact that we are, unfortunately, so terrible at coming together peacefully ourselves in Malta, setting aside partisan interests. The good people in the Labour and Nationalist Parties need to agree on a common strategy and agenda to exert Malta’s influence strategically abroad, in pursuit of a planet with a future, instead of a looming catastrophe that will affect us all. We need to educate ourselves, and use our positions of influence to educate and inspire others. Each individual must take an active role in fighting the corporate and crony interests that are strangling our country and our planet. The fact that we are on track for catastrophe is proof that sitting around and expecting others to save the day is just not going to work, so get up and try and change things, because if you do not, it seems that few others will.