The Nationalist Party on Wednesday strongly condemned the Labour Government's systemic failure to confront the most pressing crisis of our time: climate change, while the Labour Party responded by saying that the PN has no credibility to speak on the subject.
The PN said that a new report by the European Commission “lays bare the harsh reality”: Malta's greenhouse gas emissions under the Effort Sharing Regulation have skyrocketed by a shocking 30.6% in 2023 compared to 2005 levels - one of the highest increases in the entire European Union.
“This is not merely a statistic; it's an indictment of a Government that is steering Malta in the wrong direction,” the PN said.
For years, the Labour Government has tried to mask its inaction with photo opportunities, vague announcements, and shallow green promises. But no PR campaign can cover up what the facts now scream out loud: the Labour Government has a complete lack of political will, vision, and serious leadership for the necessary climate action, the PN said
The PN said that the report exposes a litany of critical failures:
On “skyrocketing emissions and deceptive plans”, the PN said that not only are emissions rising when they should be drastically falling, but the Government's own National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) projects a further 29.4% increase in emissions by 2030, “a stark failure of Malta's binding EU target to reduce emissions by 19%.”
The PN said that the report exposed “insufficient renewable energy ambition”, noting that while a reported 15.1% renewable energy use in 2023 shows a slight uptick, Malta's proposed national contribution of 24.5% for 2030 is deemed "insufficient" by the European Commission, which states it should be at least 28%. Additionally, our only serious renewable source is solar. “We are lagging, not leading,” the PN said.
The PN said that the report showed how the government had “neglected climate adaptation” because of persisting inaction on serious climate adaptation measures, despite clear and present threats from water scarcity, extreme heat, and rising sea levels. “The Government still has not authored a climate vulnerability risk assessment, let alone drafted policy to mitigate the impact of the changing climate,” the PN said.
It blasted “stagnation in energy efficiency & building renovation”, saying that there is a critical failure to improve energy efficiency, particularly with slow progress in renovating buildings (especially residential) and insufficient promotion of solutions like heat pumps. “The public sector itself is not leading by example,” it said.
The PN said that the country has “no alternative mobility” and that transport remains one of the largest sources of emissions for our country. “This emphasises the total failure of alternative public transportation. The Government's plans on how to reduce emissions remain vague. In addition EV infrastructure remains critically lacking,” the PN said.
On “surging emissions from waste”, the PN said that the Government has no policy on how to reduce methane emissions from existing landfills which have been filled significantly ahead of schedule due to an exploding population that was not properly planned for.
The PN noted a “lack of industrial decarbonisation and R&D”, saying that there has been no significant drive to promote renewable hydrogen in industry or to expand investment in crucial clean energy research and development.
Finally, the PN noted a “failure in land use”, saying that the report had found "insufficient ambition" and a projected failure to meet even modest targets for greenhouse gas removals from land use, land-use change, and forestry, further exacerbating our carbon footprint.
The implications, the PN said, are clear: a country run by carelessness, incompetence, and a lack of future vision, while families suffer the consequences: pollution, higher bills, health risks, and an uncertain future for our children.
The PN demanded an immediate and radical course correction to a “climate first policy” which it described as a “fundamental national shift to place climate action and sustainability at the absolute core of all public policy and investment decisions.”
The PN said that it would implement “massive and targeted green investments”, placing an increased emphasis in finding renewable alternatives besides solar subsidies. This can be an opportunity for local R&D and public-private partnerships, the party said.
It continued that it would expedite the process to have the first offshore renewables, including floating solar PV and offshore wind projects, with simplified permitting, and bring about a “revolution in sustainable transport”, including rapid expansion of EV charging infrastructure, concrete measures to reduce car dependency such as efficient public transport.
The PN said it would introduce a national program for deep energy-efficient building renovations, especially for residential stock, and prioritise the electrification of heating through heat pumps, and would promote renewable hydrogen in industry and substantial investment in clean energy research and development.
Finally, it said that it would offer “full political accountability for this betrayal of Malta's climate obligations and an immediate, transparent overhaul of the National Energy and Climate Plan to align with EU targets and scientific reality.”
“The Labour Government has failed Malta, not once, but consistently. The time has come for the people to say enough is enough and demand a better, sustainable future,” the PN concluded.
Facts show Opposition opposes initiatives to strengthen climate action - PL
The Nationalist Party is not credible when it speaks about climate action and its targets, the Labour Party said in reply. This is because it always chooses the path of populism and not of concrete change that can bring about a difference, it added.
The PL noted that in recent months and years, the PN has opposed reforms to recycle more waste, has not supported initiatives to reduce the use of plastic, and has opposed projects which will lead to less land being taken for landfills.
“In fact, today Parliament will be discussing an Opposition motion against the new environmental permit regulations which require higher levels than the industry and give a bigger share to the citizen in decisions. When one analyses the PN motion, one understands that it is intended to weaken and not strengthen environmental regulations,” the PL said, referring to a parliamentary debate held on Wednesday.
On energy, the PN can hardly be credible, not only because it opposed the removal of heavy fuel oil, but also because it left Malta with just over a 10MW of clean energy, the PL said.
Today, thanks to a Labour Government Malta has 252MW of renewable energy while we are moving towards true diversification with a strong plan in the energy sector that the government is implementing, the party said.
It noted that the government has launched new incentives for those who buy sustainable buildings, has issued more incentives for families and businesses to use and install renewable energy and above all is implementing projects which lead by example as it has done until the last few days with the net zero building of the water services corporation which is financed by the innovative and sustainable concept of Green bonds.
While the PN opposes concrete changes, in just one thing it is consistent: that energy prices must be increased, the PL said. “Here the Government does not agree because the transition towards sustainability should not be built on burdens that oppress families and businesses. Instead, this transition should be built on strong changes and incentives,” the PL said.
Referring to land use, the PL said that the PN showed that it really has no shame when it was it that extended development zones, so that owners today were given a right by law to develop. In contrast, the Government acted to save areas like Ħondoq ir-Rummien, and in case of various other lands around the country it intervened to carry out open spaces projects.
“More than this, today almost 30% of land in our country is legally protected, because of political decisions in favour of people and in favour of the environment,” the PL said.
The Labour Party insisted that for the future there should be more initiatives by the government which continue to sustain effective action in the face of the climate change challenge, and which are also sensitive to economic and social needs because there is no successful transition if this is one which punishes the people.