The Labour Party pledged to invest €700 million in the environment over the next five years. The environment will be given priority in this legislature, it is said.

In his speech explaining the government’s programme at the opening of Parliament on 7 May, President George Vella spoke about the intention to put the environment as the “primary objective” of the government’s work.

This statement has not impressed environmental NGOs. First of all, they want to know how this €700 million will be spent before forming an opinion. And, secondly, they know that it will not be enough to make up for the damage that has already been caused.

In an interview with The Malta Independent on Sunday, the coordinator of the Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar NGO, Astrid Vella, expressed her scepticism on this.

The €700 million to be spent will not serve to balance out the over-development that has taken place in the past years, she said. Certain areas in Malta and Gozo have been destroyed and nothing will bring them back.

It is too little, too late, she said. The government speaks about the idea of creating green spaces in urban areas. But is there this “space” which could be turned into some kind of green project? The hearts of our towns and villages have been taken over by buildings, so there isn’t much left with which to work.

Uncontrolled development is taking its toll on our physical and mental wellbeing, but few seem to notice this, and even fewer care.

The government is yet to explain how this €700 million will be spent. The sum looks enormous, and we are sure that we will have ministers speaking about millions here and there which, they will say, form part of this €700 million. But, at the end of the day, whether this will mean a better environment for all of us remains to be seen.

This is because Vella is right to say that so much damage has been caused to the environment, and that it is hard to imagine that anything will rectify the situation. And it’s not only over-development – with villages expanding into towns and blocks of apartments going higher and higher – that is the cause of so much distress.

With so many buildings which have been abandoned and neglected, it would be good if the construction industry looked at the idea of restoration. But this is probably less lucrative than building new blocks, and therefore less attractive to entrepreneurs.

There are other environmental issues that will need to be taken into account, and one of them is certainly transport. The government is planning to take on the costs of public transport, which would mean it will become free of charge (although paid for by taxes). But we do not believe that there will be many who will ditch their cars and start going to work or any other place using buses.

Traffic problems, and the pollution caused, will not go away because, on 1 October, public transport will be free.