Blanket subsidies on energy promote waste, newly-elected Chamber of Commerce president William Spiteri Bailey said.

In an interview with this media house, Spiteri Bailey said such subsidies hide actual costs.

He continued that the chamber calls for such subsidies to be replaced by targeted support aimed at "those who really need it", and that there needs to be a gradual and transparent reduction of the subsidies.

He stated that the chamber supports the liberalisation of energy distribution after 2027, noting that he believes this would lead to improvements in energy infrastructure, distribution and innovation. He added that there should be significant investment in the energy distribution network with the introduction of a long-term energy resilience plan in order to promote a diverse renewable energy mix.

Asked whether he believes it is feasible for Malta to make serious progress in energy sustainability, Spiteri Bailey said that the chamber has raised concerns about the ageing and overstretched energy distribution network. He said that this "hampers progress in energy efficiency, renewable energy investment and also hampers businesses and everyone".

He said that the chamber feels that smarter infrastructure planning is needed, as well as support for energy initiatives. He added that plans regarding offshore renewable energy projects need to actually be worked on and made to happen, rather than just being talked about. "It is essential to meet national climate goals as well, so we improve the energy system resilience." He added that at the same time, the lack of awareness regarding the true economic and environmental costs of energy and climate change lead to inefficient energy use.

"The chamber has been advocating for quite some time now that the real consumption data and analytics need to be made public because they help manage the use more efficiently."

The chamber president reiterated the importance for the government to publish data, particularly in relation to documents such as Vision 2050 and the Transport Ministry's recently unveiled proposals aimed at reducing traffic congestion.

Last week the government presented what it labelled as Vision 2050, a document for public consultation which speaks of the government's plans for the next 25 years. It recently also presented a list of initiatives, which are aimed to tackle traffic issues. One measure is for people to give up their licence for five years in exchange for €25,000.

When asked if the chamber believes that initiative such as offering people money to give up their driving licence for some years could be effective, Spiteri Bailey replied that "they could be" or "they might not be", and that it needs to be understood what data was used to come up with the measure.

He remarked that the chamber hopes that the proposal brought forward is based on data which proves that the measures make sense.

The first part of the interview was carried in The Malta Independent on Sunday on 13 April