Four years ago, Alternattiva Demokratika had reminded the then parliamentary secretary for the environment, Mario de Marco, of an imaginative initiative which his father, the late Guido de Marco, had put forward at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit on climate change, as Minister for Foreign Affairs, of the appointment of a ‘Guardian for Future Generations’.
The guardian, it was proposed, would act as a supra-national entity under the auspices of the UN with the role of actively promoting the interests of the ‘voiceless’ future generations and of advocating their rights when decisions have long-term consequences that affect them negatively.
Readily grasping the imagination and importance of such an initiative, the then Nationalist government breathed new life into this concept by embedding it in the new Sustainable Development Act.
Commenting at the time, this newspaper said that while there were obvious attractions in articulating in law the government’s good intentions “for present generations… to foresee possible risks and uncertainties that present economic, political and technological policies have on future generations”, the practical implementation of such good intentions also needed to be thought through in a hard-headed manner.
We questioned, for example, whether the inclusion of Article 9 in the Maltese Constitution had actually led to Parliamentarians safeguarding our environment and cultural heritage more effectively, or less so, since Independence. The answer we thought was that it had probably had little impact judging by the environmental degradation around us.
When governments take decisions they do so invariably thinking they are taking them in the long-term interests of the nation. Experience demonstrates, however, that this has not always been the case because of the short-sightedness of politicians.
We concluded that if a new post of ‘Guardian for Future Generations’ was to be created under the new Act, it should ensure that it gave Guardians the teeth to do the job.
On taking over in 2013, the new Labour government left the distinguished Commission Guardians in post: Michael Zammit Cutajar, former ambassador to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change; Michael Bonello, former Governor of the Central Bank; Simone Mizzi, Executive President of Din l-Art Ħelwa; and lawyer Roberta Lepre.
Two years later the four Guardians for Future Generations have resigned in frustration, saying their mandate could not be accomplished due to lack of financial, administrative and staff support.
The resignation of four distinguished people, who probably epitomise the best of civic responsibility and voluntary commitment to public service, is a stain on the government. It underlines that this administration is simply disinterested in, or ignorant of, the complex nature of sustainable development in its economic, social and environmental dimensions.
Sustainable development should be placed at the centre of government, affecting all decisions, policies and the way government operates. The negative reaction of the Prime Minister and the Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development to the pleas for budgetary provision and organisational support over the last two years speak volumes.
As the former chairman of the Guardians for Future Generations aptly put it: “Future generations have no vote”. Perhaps, as the Guardians themselves have suggested, this issue should be taken out of the hands of politicians and placed directly under the President.