Traffic emissions up 14% in three years

Noxious carbon monoxide traffic emissions leaped by 14 per cent between 2004 and 2007, the latest official data shows.

After a lull of 10 years between 1990 and 2000 when such emissions, as they are known scientifically, actually decreased by a third, they rose exponentially from 2004 to 2007.

The reason suggested by the National Statistics Office is a shift back from the use of diesel, which emits less of the substance when compared to petrol. It is not yet clear, however, whether this trend stems from the fact that diesel prices increased over the past few years, making it more cost effective to buy cheaper petrol-run vehicles.

The news comes as the globe marks World Environment Day today.

In fact, according to the European Environmental Agency, which also released Europe-wide environmental statistics this week, greenhouse gas emissions in Malta rose by 2.3 per cent, or 70,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, between 2006 and 2007.

In the period 1990 to 2007, Malta saw an increase of 45.7 per cent, surpassed only by Cyprus and Spain. The lion's share of that increase comes as a result of demand for electricity. In fact, while in 1990 emissions produced from electricity generation stood at 738,000 tonnes of CO2, the figure shot up to more than two million tonnes in 2007.

Even the transport sector, which follows closely, has seen increases over the same period, despite a slump between 1999 and 2004.

Over the past 17 years, CO2 emissions from diesel and petrol increased Malta's emissions by 79 and 30 per cent respectively.

On the whole, Malta produced just over three million tonnes of greenhouse gases compared to two million tonnes in 1990.

Overall, the EU managed to cut emissions by an average of 1.2 per cent in 2007 over 2006 and by 9.3 per cent over the 1990 levels.

Under the Kyoto protocol, the EU is bound to decrease its total emissions by eight per cent over 1990 levels until 2012. This does not apply to Malta and Cyprus, which are not parties to the protocol as they were not members of the EU when the UN agreement was signed.

However, Malta will now have to start taking measures to reduce emissions as it will form part of the protocol's second stage, to be negotiated next year, and also under a new set of EU climate change rules establishing that member states significantly reduce their emissions by 2020.

According to another EEA study issued last year, by 2010 Malta is predicted to be registering the highest increase of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU.

Projections carried out by the agency on the efforts made by the 27 member states to cut greenhouse gas emissions - one of the main causes of global warming - showed that under two year's time, Malta's greenhouse gas emissions will increase by a staggering 62 per cent over its 1990 levels.

The EEA is projecting that total emissions will increase to 3.5 million metric tonnes by 2010.

Carbon dioxide constitutes 83 per cent of all the greenhouse gases produced by Malta, followed by methane (14 per cent), fluorinated gases (two per cent) and nitrous oxide (one per cent).

The energy sector, primarily the power stations, is by far the most pollutant source responsible for 67 per cent of all greenhouse gases produced by the island. Other substantial pollutant sectors are transport (16 per cent) and waste facilities (12 per cent).