Greenhouse gas emissions by sector

What is the trend in Malta’s greenhouse gas emissions?

Greenhouse gases arising from human activities trap heat within the atmosphere, giving rise to increasing global temperatures. As a small Mediterranean island with a large coastal area, Malta is vulnerable to climate change. Malta’s GHG emissions over the period 1990–2009 show an overall increase of 39 per cent, though instances of decreasing emissions have been observed in certain years (e.g. between 2003-2004 and 2007-2009).

Similar to previous years, in 2009 the emissions mainly derived from the energy sector (including transport) with 87.9 per cent of total. This was followed by waste (7.6 per cent), while agriculture and industrial processes, together with the solvent and other product use sectors, contributed to almost 4.5 per cent of GHG emissions.

Between 1990 and 2009, emissions per unit GDP decreased by 36.7 per cent, to 488Gg per billion euros at constant 2000 prices in 2009, possibly reflecting a degree of decoupling of emissions from economic development over the whole time period. Per capita emissions increased by 22.3 per cent during this period, to 6.8 tonnes per capita in 2009.