One can be business friendly and environment friendly at the same time. The two approaches can work in sync with one another so long as sustainable paths are pursued.
During what turned out to be a healthy non-confrontational debate in the House the other day, I made the point that Budget 2015 gives tangible proof of the concrete measures whereby the corporate sector was being given the opportunity to actually strengthen the environment. Be it through the forthcoming call for tenders to be issued by our ministry regarding the commercialisation of certain activities at the Marsascala family park or the call for a public consultation, hopefully paving the way for private sector involvement too in the green belt concept development.
The promised request for proposals the government is committed to issue, to attack head-on the worrying plastic littering problem that our island faces, seems to have been welcomed and understood by the Opposition too.
The proposed White Paper on enforcement should hopefully lead to less bureaucracy but more efficient implementation. Our ministry has long argued that, so long as it is carried out effectively, we are all for a flexible approach to structures.
Decision makers worldwide need to listen to science far more
The exemption of small businesses generating less than 100 kilos packaging waste should come as a relief to the commercial sector without in any way damaging the environment, so much so that a legal notice I have just signed is in strict conformity with long-standing EU practices.
Louis Cassar’s outline strategy for the implementation of a national restoration and afforestation project will be scrutinised carefully by our ministry and, at a later stage, assessed by the government too.
What came as a pleasant surprise to me was an e-mail from a leading NGO exponent who pointed out something unknown to me. I was informed that when the mere notion of drawing up such a strategy had been floated in the past, past governments and Mepa itself had immediately shot it down.
I equally welcomed the study on air quality that Martin Scicluna had drawn up a few months back for consideration once ERA – the Environment and Resources Authority – is set up to enhance our approach towards tackling air quality. I was particularly struck by its practical set of suggestions and common sense approach.
While I welcomed the participation of PPPs even in the environmental sector, I made it clear in the House that any future initiatives in this area should be subjected to an effective regulator. The view that a particular consortium had once expressed that they should not be regulated since they are in business with the government does not hold any water. Even a 100 per cent State-owned company like Wasteserv is, as it should be, regulated. So why should we exempt other similar entities from regulation?
PPPs, whether in the environmental sector or not, should never be allowed to morph into mere one-way concessions.
With this in mind, I had been rather shocked when, a few months back, a shadow minister had suggested that the commercialisation of certain activities in the family park should be given to a particular company or consortium that were prepared to run all operations free of charge. A copy of the parliamentary question and names can be provided upon request. So much for the level playing field some people often rightly call for!
In Parliament, I also announced that when an online public consultation will be held on so-called junk mail we will be looking out for the feedback of both civil society and economic stakeholders. This because we believe in a holistic approach rather than jumping the gun, as the previous government had done by first coming forward with a budgetary measure it was then compelled to ditch completely.
The greening of the communities scheme that we ran on a pilot basis last year was a resounding success. In the new year, it will be extended to the local councils of Paola, Birkirkara, Mosta, Ta’ Xbiex and Xagħra, subject to the, by now, standard MOUs that bind all councils to rigorous rules of financial propriety while offering new openings for suppliers and service providers.
Our meeting at MCESD level on the proposed Climate Action Bill was as welcome as the Opposition’s commitment in the House that it will be voting in favour of the Bill when presented in Parliament. Their proposals are being evaluated together with all the other feedback and suggestions received during the consultation process.
Tree lovers must have surely welcomed the news that, although we have no intention of regulating the regulator, rather than waiting for the Mepa demerger to take place we have already done the necessary ground work to ascertain that certain reforms which ensure better protection of trees in urban areas can take place once ERA assumes responsibility.
We have long been aware that tree lovers are as passionate as animal lovers about such a subject that is so integral to the environment in general even though, as things stand, their regulation is beyond our remit.
The recently-announced Scientific Advisory Council for the Environment should ensure that, although a consultative body, my ministry will have far more scientific sources on which to draw before ensuring that certain strategic decisions which fall under our domain are made.
Decision makers worldwide need to listen to science far more. The worst thing any decision-maker can do is decide from an ill-informed or under informed position.
We face the future brightly and optimistically. We will welcome all types of criticism, comforted by the fact that the government’s and our ministry’s real litmus test will be the Mepa demerger. In keeping with its manifesto pledge, the government is committed to ensuring that the environment will come out stronger while cutting down on unnecessary red tape and fast tracking the type of processes that, in the past, used to offer so much potential for graft and corruption.
Leo Brincat is Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change.