A serious environmental strategy requires a long-term vision because decisions concerning the environment – if implemented properly – require their due time to leave the desired results, ADPD believes.

Many studies carried out over the years have been ignored, or worse still the opposite of what had been recommended has been carried out, the Green Party Chairperson Carmel Cacopardo said when addressing a press conference in front of the ERA offices in Marsa this morning.

Cacopardo said that there is no longer time available for never-ending discussions. It is well known that there is no political will for serious action with respect to environmental matters – from climate change, to pollution, traffic, land use and energy. It is Government’s duty to implement robust and effective measures . However, laws are futile if there are no penalties if they are not followed and if legal remedies are not available if the targets are not met. The solutions are well known, but all governments have failed to implement them. There are various  valid principles in the strategy, however the rather vague wording  means that it will probably remain simply words on paper, as we have seen with previous strategies.

The implementation of such a strategy is dependent on political will for it to be carried out, with well-defined targets and responsibilities, as well as the commitment of Government to make all the necessary resources available. Linked to this is the taxation system : incentives and fiscal disincentives should push towards the ecological transition and promote the necessary wellbeing for a better quality of life, and better urban and natural environments. Clientelism, nepotism and a ‘supermarket’ policy has let us to where we are today – we are in a climate emergency which leads to economic and social crises. We cannot continue to fight nature but need to work hand-in-hand with it.

We have had many consultations and reports over the years but all  governments have ignored the technical advice given, because the available political vision only extends to 4 or 5 years, that is from one election to the next. A serious environmental strategy requires a long-term vision - over at least 25 years. This is necessary because decisions concerning the environment – if implemented properly – require their due time to leave the desired results. This is  the only way that we would see the desired results, concluded Cacopardo.