Lack of data delays climate change report

The recommendations on a national strategy to address climate change had to be delayed because of lack of data, it emerged yesterday.

The report was commissioned by Resources Minister George Pullicino in June and was meant to be finalised at the beginning of this month. It will be delayed by a few weeks, said David Spiteri Gingell, the chairman of the Climate Change Committee responsible for drawing up the recommendations.

He said the committee had been faced with huge challenges, the biggest being lack of data available to the research team and had to ask for a deadline extension.

Mr Spiteri Gingell was speaking during the Union Ħaddiema Magħqudin's extraordinary general conference on climate change and employment.

The much-anticipated document will look at the link between climate change and the different levels of Malta's economy. However, when looking into the economic repercussions of climate change, the report will only address the macro-economic level, the branch of economics that deals with the national economy via indicators such as gross domestic product and unemployment rates.

Mr Spiteri Gingell said the micro-economic facet of the research had to be omitted due to the lack of data. This facet would have looked at how decisions made by individuals and firms, for example, affect the supply and demand for goods and services. Among its recommendations, the report will suggest that data on micro-economics be compiled.

The link between climate change and the economy could not be ignored, he said. As an EU member and a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, Malta had obligations to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and this had financial implications.

Through the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme, for example, if Malta used more that its quota of carbon emissions it would have to buy credits from other countries. Such an unforeseen cost would surely affect the economy as the government would have to fork out large sums of money that would otherwise be used for other sectors.

Mr Spiteri Gingell gave a taste of some of the other recommendations to be made by the committee. They will include focusing on research and development and introducing multi-pricing in tariffs so that people are encouraged to use energy during non-peak hours. This would reduce the load on Enemalta during peak hours.

The report, he said, would also propose the setting up of a Climate Change Department to serve as a "knowledge portal" for the public.

He added that while he agreed that subsidies on electricity should be removed because they encouraged waste and abuse, the government should be more "aggressive" when it came to encouraging alternative means of generating energy.