The Secretariat for Tourism and the Environment has appealed to motorists to use public transport and avoid using private cars on September 22, International Car Free Day.

However no restrictions on the use of cars were announced.

In a statement, the secretariat noted that there are 301,605 vehicles in Malta, one of the biggest concentrations of vehicles in the world in relation to the population. A third of vehicles are over 10 years old and 41 per cent are between six and 10 years old.

All such vehicles produced emissions which contributed to the climate change process.

The secretariat said that all motorists should contribute towards countering this problem.

It therefore appealed to all motorists to use public transport on International Car Free Day or else adopt car pooling, to reduce the number of vehicles on the roads.

It also called for greater use of bicycles and greater use of the 'park and ride' facility.

Where possible, people should go to work on foot, the secretariat said.