Previous governments tended to consult the electorate almost literally on the eve of an election whenever they saw the writing on the wall and electoral defeat loomed on the horizon.

True to its word this government has taken a different course. It promised half yearly consultation meetings with the public and it is in fact holding them. Last week’s Gvern li Jisma (a government that listens) was in fact the second in the series since June of last year.

Apart from fielding a number of interesting questions by people who seemed to have no hidden agenda and who came across as strongly committed to the subjects on which they spoke, the activity I addressed served as an excellent platform from which I was able to explain clearly where our ministry’s responsibilities began and ended.

It became very clear for all those who had thought Mepa permitting issues were our responsibility that to date the authority falls under a different ministry. The planned demerger will set the two arms – the environmental and the planning arms – apart. Meanwhile, I emphasised our strong ministerial commitment to ensure that all that was promised in the manifesto on strengthening the environment as a result of this demerger needs to be implemented in an unequivocal manner.

I also made the point that while the ministry remains ultimately responsible for ensuring that the environment is safeguarded, not only is the government expected to lead by example but, in addition, each and every ministry and entity must shoulder the collective responsibility to ensure that no matter how business friendly we are, the environment is everyone’s concern. It is not just the concern of the Ministry for the Environment.

I explained that I had formally obliged each and every ministry to commit itself to whatever they deemed doable in the national environment policy. From now on, by their own yardstick, they will need to deliver what they themselves feel they are capable of doing. As for the monitoring, this will continue to be handled actively and rigorously by my ministry.

This shared responsibility also applies to every entity, stakeholder, constituted body and member of civil society. It is pointless talking of an environment for all unless all key players are on board.

Lip service will surely not suffice and will only add insult to injury.

While I have full respect for the work being carried out by eNGOs and Mepa itself, it is high time that people realised the environment is a sector far wider than that. Whether the sector will be strengthened or not is subject to a very simple litmus test: it is the people themselves who will judge whether, over the months and years to come, their quality of life and that of their families and children will be better or worse off.

It is pointless talking of an environment for all unless all key players are on board

While it is important to think of future generations we must be equally committed to help people benefit from qualitative improvements in the manner in which their environment is being safeguarded.

In the same way that other countries have managed to decouple increases in waste generation from economic growth, we must be smart enough to realise that the environment and economic growth should not be perceived as alien to one another but rather as complementary.

This is the international debate raging abroad on climate change too.

While many politicians, particularly on the right wing of the political spectrum, prefer to remain in denial of science, by claiming that climate issues hinder economic growth, Nicholas Stern has argued in his A Blueprint for a Safer Planet that managing climate change and creating a new era of progress and prosperity should go hand in hand.

On sustainable development I made it clear during the meeting that contrary to what many think – that this concept is linked merely to the environment – the socio-economic and cultural dimensions are equally important. This is borne out by the UN’s own definition. One particular environmentalist has long agreed with such a stance, so much so that when portfolios were originally distributed under a new government, he claimed that sustainable development should never fall under the ministry of the environment since it might give the impression that the other sectors – the social, economic and cultural – have been relegated to areas of secondary importance.

Last Friday I took the opportunity of announcing a number of initiatives that certain media conveniently ignored for reasons long understood.

As part of our budgetary commitment to green communities, we intend to launch a pilot project in three localities inundated by traffic problems – Fgura, Msida and St Paul’s Bay.

I announced that we were working actively on mitigating the negative odours emanating from recycling plants – both the existing one and the one still to be built in Għallis. These are plants running more or less on the same technology as St Antnin, according to the tender specs from the previous administration.

I also explained how Wasteserv has beefed up its deficient management structures and will be working actively to do without the need for a new engineered landfill, if this proves to be feasible.

We are committed to having a stakeholders’ group to monitor the implementation of the waste management plan, combined with a robust educational campaign and online monitoring to gauge public feedback.

We are committed to extend the activities within the Family Park through a transparent expression-of-interest process, particularly now that for the first time it has been certified as fit for people with special needs as well as being in line with basic health and safety regulations.

Work is underway on our commitment to draft legislation on noise pollution as well as on climate change.

Leħen l-Istudent… għax madwari jimpurtani (the voice of the student… because my surroundings are important) is a new initiative whereby secondary school students in all schools – private and Church schools included – will be given the opportunity to come up with creative proposals on how the environment can be embellished in the areas and localities where their schools maybe situated.

Ultimately, whether we succeed or fail will all depend on the extent of our commitment as a government to put our money where our mouth is, as well as by showing the resolve and political will to translate all these electoral pledges into deliverables that can be seen and felt by one and all.

Leo Brincat is Minister for Sustainable Development, the Environment and Climate Change.