Prime Minister Robert Abela met with the European Commissioner for the Environment Virginijus Sinkevičius this week.

During this meeting, Abela mentioned a number of things to the Commissioner. The Prime Minister said that sustainability remains at the core of the transition which the country is going through. He referred, amongst others, to the Multi-Material Recovery Facility in Ħal-Far, which he said will be improving the country’s waste management capabilities by allowing for the recovery of different materials which can be exported for use in other products, thereby decreasing waste. The facility was inaugurated yesterday.

Investment in the Multi-Material Recovery Facility was needed, and over recent years efforts to introduce and improve waste separation have been noted.

However, there are other situations affecting the environment locally which, let’s be honest, the government has failed to address or hasn’t addressed enough.

Firstly, we have yet to see real and tangible measures implemented to reduce traffic on the road, aside from making public transport free for everyone. Now, it is known that the government is working on certain plans to try and reduce car usage, but as of right now, we have a growing number of private vehicles. This is an issue that needs to be tackled.

The obvious area where the government has outright failed to protect the environment relates to planning policies. Over the years, we have seen the destruction of the Maltese landscape due to terrible planning policies. Yes, the government is now trying to invest in greenery in urban areas, but it is failing to address the core issue… policies need to be changed and improved. NGOs have constantly mentioned the problematic policies and the government needs to take note of them. Among other things, we need better protection of green areas and an urban environment that is pleasant to look at.

Then there are other areas where the country could make progress. We’ve seen the issue of renewable energy come up quite a bit lately. Malta should generate more energy from renewable sources. The government had said that it is finalising a policy document focusing on the deployment of offshore renewable energy systems.

A focus on generating more renewable energy is most definitely a positive. Among other reasons, it is better for the environment and also reduces our energy dependence on outside sources. But one point that this newsroom has brought up in the past, and will bring up again, is that when it comes to the possibility of offshore windfarms, one must take care not to create eyesores close to the coast or in picturesque areas, for instance.