Shocking Enemalta statement on climate change

In an official statement in the Letters To The Editor column, Enemalta stated that CO2 is just a greenhouse gas and does not have a direct effect on the health of people since if we did we would all be dead, as we exhale CO2, when we breathe out.

If anything such a statement has merely served to reinforce my long held view, that this state corporation is totally indifferent towards climate change issues.

For readers' benefit I would like to point out that only a few weeks ago the Maltese Health Ministry organised a very interesting seminar, that I attended, expressly on the impact of climate change on human health. Among other keynote speakers, we were addressed by a very senior World Health Organisation official on the said subject.

One of WHO's most recent conclusions is that climate change is a significant and emerging threat to public health.

The most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirmed that there is an overwhelming evidence that humans are affecting the global climate, and highlighted a wide range of implications for human health.

For the benefit of Enemalta's gurus, it is worth recalling what the WHO had to say; primarily that climate variability and change cause death and disease through natural disasters, such as heat waves, floods and droughts.

Even more so, in addition, many important diseases are highly sensitive to changing temperatures and precipitation.

According to WHO, climate change already contributes to the global burden of disease, and this contribution is expected to grow in future.

The most vulnerable countries, are expected to be - among others - small island states. I think Enemalta's board of directors owe an apology to Maltese civil society for giving further tangible proof of their indifference and insensitivity.