Climate change strategy soon to become official

The national climate change strategy, launched for consultation earlier this year, should be approved by the Cabinet next week, Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino said.

The strategy aims to ensure Malta cleans up its act and reaches the EU's climate change targets by 2020. It touches on issues that include efficient lighting, alternative energy, waste management, water and electricity and information campaigns.

As a member of the EU, Malta is committed to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20 per cent from the 1990 levels and ensure 10 per cent of its energy is generated from clean sources.

The island has pledged that, by 2020, gas emissions will not be more than five per cent higher than those of 2005 in transport, agriculture and waste management. Climate change was a priority, Mr Pullicino told his Swedish counterpart Andreas Carlgren during a meeting yesterday, just weeks before Sweden takes on the six-month EU Presidency on July 1.

Sweden plans to focus of four environmental points - climate change, eco-energy efficiency, marine environment and biological diversity. Touching on eco efficiency, Mr Pullcino said green jobs made up three per cent of Malta's labour force and two per cent of its gross domestic product.

Despite the global economic crisis this sector increased by six per cent a year. Malta also had two marine conservation areas - Għajn Tuffieħa and Filfla - which it hoped to increase to six.

Mr Carlgren said the visit allowed both countries to exchange experiences on new environment technologies. Mr Pullicino said Malta looked forward to familiarising itself with the way the Swedish government had succeeded in making people understand that incinerators were not hazardous.

In Malta, people resisted the idea of having an incinerator in their communities and found it difficult to accept that these did not endanger their health, he said.

Later in the day, Mr Carlgren paid a courtesy visit on Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi.