Our duty towards our world

Last Monday, the hemicycle of the European Parliament - many a time the venue of hot debates, divisions and roll call votes - set aside for a while all the hustle and bustle of politics and made way to host an event that unites the whole world: the Energy Globe Awards. Among the honorary guests in an evening highlighted by exquisite musical interventions from Zucchero, Alanis Morissette and Dionne Warwick, were Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations, and Josè Manuel Barroso Duraõ, President of the European Commission. A special Globe award was also awarded to Ex-Soviet President and Noble Prize winner Mikhail Gorbachev for his contribution towards world conservation.

These awards were launched nine years ago to highlight the importance of sustainability and the need to strike a balance in energy production so as to keep the negative impact on our environment as low as possible.

The Energy Globe Awards are divided into five categories, which, although distinct, are all connected and are all important factors in the fight against environmental harm.

Earth - This category encourages people to make use of more natural resources so as to protect our habitat. This includes measures to control pollution by building environmentally-friendly energy plants and provide alternative means of transport, among other things.

Fire - This topic is on top of the agenda of many nowadays. In this category climate change is the main priority and special attention is given to reduce the use of energy and alternatively adapt to the use of renewable sources such as hydroelectric and solar power.

Water - There can be no form of life without water. It is the basis of everything. Throughout the ages there has been an ongoing battle over the distribution of water. This category tackles the conservational utilisation of this resource and takes a look at the innovative technologies that will make water available to all those who need it while limiting waste.

Air-No one can survive without air for more than few minutes, yet, during this last century we have managed to pollute the air at an alarming rate, mainly due to the industrial revolution. We must keep in mind that air is the bearer of climate change and we must now try and reverse the damage that has been done throughout these last 100 years or so. The category concentrates mostly on cutting Co2 emissions and optimising combustion processes while keeping greenhouse gases emissions to a minimum.

The last category of the five is, in my opinion, the most important.

Youth - The young people of today will be the world rulers of tomorrow.

They will be the architects, the engineers and the people that will make decisions. It is important to instil a sense of conservation in them. It is our duty to guide them to start thinking in an environmentally-friendly way. Their contribution to the world in a few years will be fundamental to the conservation of our planet.

This year 405 projects were submitted and this is a certificate of the interest shown in these awards. That said, the most positive thing that comes out of all this is the ever-increasing interest that is being shown in initiatives like these. It is a sign that each and every one of us is slowly but surely realising that it is in our interest to protect the world that we live in.

The winners of the five categories came from Peru, Spain, Mozambique, Austria and South Africa, which clearly shows that being environmentally-friendly is not just a thing for Europeans but a concept being adapted worldwide.

Malta also had a project participating in this event. Gozo Enterprises Ltd submitted a project which involves the development of a fuel-free electricity generating machine. Though the project did not make it to the finals but, in such cases winning is not important, it is the ambition to make this world a better one that counts.

We need more projects like these. We need to make the citizens aware that all this is being done for their benefit and, indeed, for the benefit of their children.

The event was not all glitter. The projects submitted were a firm statement for sustainability and environmental consciousness. Our environment needs initiatives and developments such as these.

We all have to do our part in this challenge. All the strata of society have a role to play in making this world a better place. A better environment is not just for the rich or the young. We need to have a cleaner atmosphere throughout. All the government's initiatives will come to nothing if we don't convince ourselves that what we are doing is for our best.

It just takes everyone to make a small effort and all that combined will make a huge difference.

Mr Casa is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.

david.casa@europarl.europa.eu, www.davidcasa.eu