For decades we have known that burning of fossil fuels is one driver of the current global warming.
Quoting an article in Business Today, one reads how Malta's energy supply mix is made of burning Natural Gas - 2024 60%. Again, electricity imported from interconnector in 2023 is based on burning Natural Gas 58.22%, yet in 2024 this increased to 66.51%. Another Malta Today article reveals how 60% of electricity supply was locally produced in power stations running on natural gas, down from 69.1% in 2023, while renewable energy contributed a mere 7.3% and petroleum products just 0.3.
Electricity imported from the European grid through the Malta-Sicily interconnector made up 32.4% of Malta's power supply in 2024, according to figures released by Enemalta (this will grow higher once the second interconnector goes live). The figures also show that only 8% of imported electricity via the interconnector came from renewable sources - a marginal rise from 7.3%. The remainder came from coal (11.9%), nuclear (5%), petroleum products (1.1%) and other sources.
Such heavy reliance on burning fossil fuels exacerbates the danger of more carbon footprint whereas we are late in our adjudication of a PMC to install offshore renewables. But hope springs eternal as 15 "solar flowers" have been installed by the government at Ta' Xħajma in Gozo for the generation of green electricity.
This is a good move, but more installations are needed. We observe with trepidation that the pre-budget interview with Minister Caruana on the prospect for more green energy is waning. In past years, the top priority was to help shareholders of Electrogas to speed up the installation of a plant burning LNG imported from Azeri minority owners.
With hindsight cutting down reliance on fossil fuels was not a key strategy for reducing carbon footprints and mitigating climate change. Let us now discuss how the Mediterranean Sea plays an important role in the global carbon cycle through several key processes.
The sea acts both as a carbon sink and source, playing a dynamic role in the global carbon cycle. Through biological uptake, water exchange with the Atlantic, and sediment carbon storage, it influences atmospheric CO₂ levels and contributes to regional and global carbon cycling processes. It absorbs carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere through physical and biological processes.
Look it up and you learn how the phytoplankton in the surface waters photosynthesise, taking up CO₂ and converting it into organic carbon. This biological carbon can be transferred to deeper waters or sediments, effectively removing CO₂ from the atmosphere for varying timescales. Malta is located in the central Mediterranean, a semi-enclosed, relatively warm sea with high evaporation rates, which affects its carbon dynamics. Greenhouse gases contribute to climate change effects in the Mediterranean by increasing temperatures, altering rainfall, raising sea levels, and impacting ecosystems and human activities. Addressing GHG emissions and adapting to these changes are critical for the sustainable future of the region.
Everyone knows that the Mediterranean receives significant carbon inputs from rivers, coastal runoff, and human activities. Organic carbon from marine organisms and terrestrial sources can be buried in Mediterranean sediments. In turn, this burial acts as a long-term carbon sink, helping to sequester carbon away from the atmosphere. For example, warming may reduce CO₂ solubility and affect phytoplankton growth, potentially changing the balance between carbon uptake and release.
Again, research tells us how some of this carbon is released back into the atmosphere, especially in warmer conditions, making parts of the sea a source of CO₂ in certain seasons or areas. As a matter of fact, the Mediterranean exchanges water with the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar, releasing dense, salty Mediterranean water flows out into the Atlantic at depth, carrying dissolved inorganic carbon and organic carbon. Naturally, all this outflow contributes to the carbon budget of the Atlantic Ocean and influences carbon cycling on a broader scale.
Groundbreaking studies in the late 1970s by labs and institutes across America made clear that rising carbon dioxide would cause significant global warming. By the early 1990s it was evident that the warming wave was already upon us. An ability to forecast climate months or even years ahead requires measurements not just of recent weather, but also of more persistent variables such as ocean temperatures, ocean currents, forest status, snow and ice cover, and the level of the greenhouse gases accumulating in the atmosphere.
The carbon footprint is increasing in the atmosphere primarily due to human activities that release large amounts of CO₂ and other greenhouse gases. How can we point the main sources? To begin with, the combustion of coal, oil, and natural gas for energy production, transportation, and industrial activities releases large amounts of CO₂ into the atmosphere.
Manufacturing, heavy cement production, and other industrial processes emit CO₂ and other greenhouse gases. Agricultural practices, including livestock farming, release methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), both potent greenhouse gases.
The islands' increase in population and economic development all lead to higher energy consumption, mostly relying on burning fossil fuels. Back to the Mediterranean region, which in turn is experiencing higher-than-average temperature increases due to enhanced greenhouse gas concentrations.
This warming leads to more frequent and intense heatwaves, affecting human health, agriculture, and ecosystems. It is no secret, how GHG-induced climate change is altering rainfall patterns in the Mediterranean, which is becoming drier overall, with reduced annual precipitation and more prolonged drought periods.
The Mediterranean Sea is experiencing rising sea levels due to thermal expansion and melting ice caps driven by global warming. Low lying islands face increased risks of flooding, erosion, and saltwater intrusion into freshwater resources. The combination of heat stress, drought, and water scarcity reduces crop yields and affects food security.
Media commentators tell us that traditional Mediterranean crops such as olives, grapes, and cereals are vulnerable to changing climate conditions. For the planet, achieving net zero by 2050 remains a tough struggle but a higher awareness of our combined responsibilities is becoming endemic.
George M. Mangion is a senior partner PKF Malta
gmm@pkfmalta.com