The government is to appoint a team of experts to devise a plan to reduce Malta's greenhouse gas emissions, Resources and Infrastructure Minister George Pullicino announced yesterday.
The seven-strong team will be working on the plan over the next two months, formulating the action that needs to be taken in the coming five years.
The minister was speaking at a press conference organised by the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Department on the occasion of World Health Day, which this year is on the theme of protecting health from climate change.
Mr Pullicino pointed out that the government cannot go it alone in this endeavour - attitude change among people was also important.
The EU has given each of its member states specific targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions as part of its commitment to counter climate change.
Malta has its work cut out to reach the targets. By 2020, it is expected to derive 10 per cent of its energy needs from renewable sources such as solar and wind power - a massive increase on the current 0.36 per cent level, the lowest in the EU - and raise its use of biofuels for transport to 10 per cent.
In March of last year EU member states had agreed to reduce the bloc's overall greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent on the 1990 levels, reach a 20 per cent share of renewables in EU energy consumption and have a 10 per cent biofuel component in vehicle fuel.
The WHO selected the theme in recognition that climate change is posing ever growing threats to global public health security.
In a statement, WHO director general Margaret Chan warned that climate change endangers human health.
"The warming of the planet will be gradual, but the effects of extreme weather events - more storms, floods, droughts and heat waves - will be abrupt and acutely felt. Both trends can affect some of the most fundamental determinants of health: Air, water, food, shelter and freedom from disease," she said.
The importance of tackling climate change was also highlighted by parliamentary secretary for health Joe Cassar, who said this could have serious effects on health, with extremes of heat and cold able to cause potentially fatal illness.
He pointed out that changes in climate are likely to lengthen the period of certain diseases and even alter their geographical range, potentially taking them to regions where the population lacks the immunity or where the public health infrastructure is not strong enough to deal with them.
Moreover, variable precipitation patterns could compromise the supply of freshwater, increasing risks of water-borne disease, while rising sea levels could give rise to coastal flooding.
It is calculated that in the next decade the amount of precipitation in the Mediterranean will drop by 20 per cent, having an effect not only on the region's agriculture but also on its economy.
An increase in temperature over the years has led to fish which were not endemic to the Mediterranean migrating there, having an effect on the sea's ecology and also on fishing. The rising temperature is also expected to give rise to increased heat-related stress.
In fact, the global average temperature has gone up by some 0.65 degrees Celsius over the past 50 years, Dr Cassar said, adding that the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide - one of the principal factors leading to climate change - has increase by more than 30 per cent since pre-industrial times.
Dr Cassar said a transport system that serves the whole population effectively and on time was needed, making it appear more attractive than using a private car in a bid to reduce greenhouse emissions.
The two MPs planted a tree at the Ta' Qali National Park, with Dr Cassar noting that trees were the lungs of the world since they helped to counter the effects of carbon dioxide.