Nearly seven years after Parliament unanimously declared a climate emergency, only five of the 15 commitments contained in the landmark motion have been fully implemented, while several of the most significant measures remain works in progress.

An analysis by The Malta Independent on Sunday shows that although some progress has been registered, implementation has been uneven, with a number of deadlines missed and several long-term commitments still awaiting tangible results.

Of the six commitments that carried specific deadlines, three were completed late, one remains on course because its deadline has not yet expired, one appears to have been neglected, while the status of another could not be independently confirmed.

Among the measures implemented are the publication of Malta's Low Carbon Development Strategy, the organisation of a national climate conference, the renaming of Parliament's environment committee to include climate change within its remit, and the announcement that the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles will be phased out by 2034.

However, many of the motion's more ambitious commitments, including measures aimed at transforming transport and reducing emissions across the public sector, remain ongoing nearly seven years after the declaration.

The Covid-19 pandemic, which struck Malta less than six months after the motion was approved in October 2019, inevitably disrupted government priorities. Nevertheless, with the health emergency now long over, questions remain about whether enough has been done to match the urgency Parliament itself recognised when it declared a climate emergency.

The full analysis may be read here