Labour MP to move climate change Bill

Labour's spokesman for the environment, Leo Brincat, yesterday promised to move a Private Members' Bill in Parliament in the coming days calling for legislation on climate change.

During a meeting with the chairman of the government's Climate Change Committee, David Spiteri Gingell, Mr Brincat said the committee's brief was purely strategic and did not specify the need for laws and enforcement to help Malta reach its emission and environmental targets. Malta was already very late in terms of an action plan for climate change and the introduction of renewable energy sources.

Mr Brincat called for an annual parliamentary report that would set a system of checks and balances, forcing the government to be more accountable. The public needed to be informed every step of the way so that it could participate in reducing Malta's carbon footprint.

Mr Spiteri Gingell said he agreed with a system of annual reports that would review the year's progress and suggest improvements because technology evolves radically each year. The committee was working on a strategic report to be submitted to the government by November 1.

He said the report will be technology-neutral and would provide the framework by which different sources of renewable energy could be adopted, a position which Mr Brincat agreed on.

On August 18, The Times carried an interview with Mr Spiteri Gingell where he spoke about the Climate Change Committee and the need to make their reports implementable.

Later that day, Mr Brincat released a press statement calling for a committee to be set up to focus on climate change legislation, raising questions as to what the differences were between his proposed committee and the one that the government had set up. Mr Brincat then clarified his position and said he wanted to see legislation and enforcement rather than empty strategies and reports that are left on the shelf.

Mr Brincat said yesterday that he decided to move the Private Members' Bill because the government refused to take notice of the proposals he made in his August statement.

Climate change needs to be tackled holistically, by looking at how it will affect various sectors such as tourism, illegal migration, agriculture and water resources, Mr Brincat said.