The public, especially government employees, are being urged to make use of alternative transport to mark car free day on Wednesday, an activity the country had abstained from over the past five years.

The Environment Parliamentary Secretariat is encouraging people to leave their cars at home on the day and, walk, cycle, use public transport or share lifts with friends and colleagues.

“These measures, among others, will undoubtedly contribute to reduce air pollution and carbon emissions and allow us to live in a cleaner environment,” said the parliamentary secretariat.

With over 300,000 licensed vehicles, 230,000 of which are privately-owned, Maltese roads are among the most densely-populated in the world. In fact, transport is the second largest greenhouse gas emitter, contributing 17.5 per cent of air pollution. It is only second to electricity generation.

“Everyone who uses a vehicle is responsible for climate change and should contribute to limit this problem,” the secretariat said.

Inspire foundation, which works among disabled children, is encouraging employees to cycle to work on Wednesday and the public to take part in a national cycle on Sunday.

The Sunday activity will follow two routes, one from the National Park at Ta’ Qali and the other from Inspire’s building in Marsascala. They then merge at Portes Des Bombes, Blata l-Bajda, and end at St George’s Square, in Valletta.

Participation in both activities is against a donation of €5 for children and €10 for adults.

Applications are available from www.inspire.org.mt and have to be submitted by Monday.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.