The government's pledge for carbon neutrality by 2050 was and is an ambitious one. It is also a goal that is to be praised, one that would benefit the environment.

Indeed, through aiming to achieve such an ambitious target, Malta would be doing its part, however small that part is, in helping the world's environment.

Part of the plan to achieve this is to switch away from internal combustion engine vehicles. In a country as small and congested as Malta, this is beneficial. Environment Minister Miriam Dalli had said in March that Malta is aiming to phase out the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2034. Another ambitious target, a year before the EU target date.

But for this to be done, the right infrastructure has to be in place to support electric vehicles, and currently, it is just not sufficient.

The Malta Independent on Sunday reported that the government is set to miss its target of installing more than 1,200 new public electric vehicle (EV) charging points across Malta and Gozo by the end of 2025. When the project was announced in 2022, the intention was to increase the number of such chargers from the then 340 to 1,572 in three years. But, according to the Energy and Water Agency (EWA), at present "there are a total of 378 public charging points", excluding private installations which Energy Minister Miriam Dalli last January said amounted to a mere 16.

This is far below the 1,572 mark. Having electric charging points readily available around the country is a must if people are to change over to using such vehicles.

PN MP Ryan Callus, commenting on the situation said that those in power to enhance this infrastructure are "incompetent" for failing to abide by their own set targets. "It is total incompetence. It is unacceptable for a charging station to be non-functional for months; I understand issues with parts, but a serious system should have everything in store for such issues to be rectified immediately," Callus said, noting that some charging stations have been reportedly non-functional "for months."

As things stand, if one does not own a garage, in which they could plug in an electric vehicle to charge, if no such stations are available closeby to their home or place of work, it would be highly unlikely that they would consider purchasing an electric vehicle.

It comes down to convenience. People buying a new vehicle would ask themselves why they would consider going through such a hassle when there is no charging point readily available for them whenever they want to charge. Government's goal is commendable, but it must step up the implementation of the required infrastructure.

If there are charging stations that are not operating, they must be fixed immediately. When Malta bans the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles, the required infrastructure for EVs must be in place and in plentiful supply.

Regarding the delays, The EWA said that this project has encountered delays during the public procurement process, "particularly in relation to the establishment of tender technical specifications". It also said that "a number of new technical requirements on charging pillar infrastructure were introduced during the implementation lifetime of this project, namely through the AFIR Regulation (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulations)," such as "the new fast-charging pillars, which will have an integrated point of sale terminal, allowing ad hoc charging, a requirement of AFIR." It went on to say that the setting up of more charging points/pillars will be accelerating over the coming months. 

With the deadlines imposed, the agency does need to speed up the setting up of more charging points.

The quicker more charging pillars are installed, the quicker people will be to consider purchasing an electric vehicle when it comes to buying a new car.