Sometimes European Union legislation, rules and regulations make very little difference to the everyday lives of ordinary Maltese people, and sometimes they can make a life and death difference.

And on Friday we saw a distinct case of the latter, with the Council of the European Union addressing the very real, clear and present danger that shipping pollution has on the Maltese population.

Perhaps it is because we have been a seafaring nation since time immemorial; or maybe we are so accustomed to seeing cargo ships and cruise liners belching out thick, black smoke into our air and over our rooftops that we pay them little heed.

But the fact of the matter is that CO2 emissions and air pollution are claiming the very lives of some 230 Maltese prematurely every year, according to recent statistics, coupled with the fact that the ships that call at our ports pollute far more than all the vehicles on pour roads, should serve as a wake-up call to action.

If the shipping sector were a country, it would rank sixth in emissions in the world and it would be larger than that of any single EU member states.  At EU level, CO2 emissions from maritime transport increased by 48% between 1990 and 2008. And in 2015, maritime transport caused 13% of the overall EU greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector.

All of this growth has a direct impact on the health of each and every Maltese citizen and in particular on all those thousands of people living within harbour areas.

Pollution being generated by cruise ships alone in Maltese ports, according to recent studies, is around 148 times higher than all the pollution generated by all the vehicles found on Malta’s roads.

It is estimated that 283,000 vehicles generate 3.4 tonnes of sulphur oxides, while the 83 cruise liners which visited Malta last year generated 502.8 tonnes. Air pollution in Malta is estimated by the EU to cost over €182 million in healthcare costs and 44,000 days of lost work due to otherwise avoidable respiratory diseases.

And with Malta’s ports being in such close proximity to heavily inhabited areas, action is simply crying out to be taken but it seems that Malta, unless it is exerting pressure behind the scenes, appears to be doing little considering the clout it carries on a global scale considering the sheer size of its shipping register, which is one of the world’s largest.

As of this year ship owners have been obliged to monitor and report under a monitoring, reporting and verification system, and the global data collection system.

On Friday, ambassadors of EU member states agreed on a proposal that updates existing EU rules, and partially aligns them to the existing system for ship fuel oil consumption.

But the Council, under the Finnish Presidency, is looking to take matters a step further by necessitating the monitoring and reporting of cargo carried, and to make it compulsory.

Although such information contributes to a better understanding of the fuel efficiency of ships, the European Commission had proposed to turn cargo carried into a voluntary reporting element.

The concept is to make the maritime transport sector more energy efficient, use less fuel and contribute to the bloc’s climate and health goals. It is about companies and the general public to knowing how much fuel each ship uses, meaning authorities will be able to compare ships’ emissions and choose more energy efficient ones.

Once that this is done, we may just end of with a CO2 inventory of the maritime visitors to our islands, and their cost to the environment and human health.  And from there we will be better able to make our cost-benefit analyses and determine whether their custom is really worth it or not.

Many are the ways in which the individual can look after their health, and many are the ways that we are being encouraged to do so.  We can eat healthier, we can cut out the habits that detract from our health, we can exercise more and we can even buy less-polluting automobiles or trade in our gas guzzlers for bicycles.

But when it comes to the killer that is air pollution, there is little such direct action that we can take, and as such we are truly at the mercy of the policy makers.  This holds even truer when the source of the pollution in question is out of the hands of ordinary people, and in the hands of the world’s shipping giants.

Studies have shown that pollution levels from ships in Malta’s Grand Harbour are 10 times higher than pollution levels on the country’s most congested roads. This is a frightening when one considers the population density of the Grand Harbour area, not to mention further south in other shipping-heavy areas such as Birzebbuga or Marsaxlokk.

Recent figures show air pollution from shipping can account for 40% of all Mediterranean costal city air pollution and let’s face it, Malta is pretty much a coastal city in European terms.  And as such we are facing a significant threat to our health, environment and climate due to ships’ use of heavy fuel oil - highly charged in sulphur and which emits black carbon, heavy metals, fine particulates, and sulphur dioxide.

We seem to be perpetually talking about Malta becoming the best in Europe or the best in the world, and if we address this growing menace in a rational, balanced and healthy way, we may just achieve that goal and others could follow suit. 

Now that would certainly be a feather in this government’s cap.