It comes as little surprise to learn that a recent Eurobarometer survey on ambient air quality has shown that the large majority of Maltese consider that the quality of air has deteriorated substantially over the past 10 years, and that more should be done to alleviate the problem.

The state of the environment makes a significant contribution to our quality of life, none more so than in the air we breathe since it markedly affects our health and well-being.

This is the key message to emerge from the Eurobarometer survey, with 99 per cent of those surveyed identifying Malta’s heavy traffic density as the key component contributing towards air pollution, while 92 per cent point at emissions from the power stations, as causes of the problem.

Overall, a hefty 63 per cent of correspondents said Malta was not doing enough to improve air quality, which they rightly blamed for the greater incidence of respiratory illnesses, and over half thought renewable energy, not the use of fossil fuels, would be the right answer for Malta.

There can be no argument that, while renewable energy would undoubtedly help, vehicle emissions are the major source of air pollution.

According to a comprehensive report four years ago by The Today Public Policy Institute, entitled Towards a Low Carbon Economy: The Nation’s Health, Energy Security and Fossil Fuels, there is convincing scientific evidence that both public health and the environment are severely adversely affected by vehicle emissions, which are directly associated with increases in the incidence of asthma attacks and the risk of contracting lung cancer.

Riding in a car offers little or no protection against pollutants generated by traffic and yet Maltese citizens are daily subjected to the fumes and emissions of trucks and cars, which spew pollution into the air affecting pedestrians and motorists alike, the latter being at an even higher risk from exhaust fumes. Public policy is failing to protect citizens’ health from the effects of poisonous transport pollution.

Where does responsibility for this state of affairs lie? The control of vehicle emissions rests with Transport Malta, although the responsibility for monitoring air pollution rests with Mepa in line with its regulatory responsibility for controlling air pollution more generally.

However, it is Transport Malta which has the key duty – and the enforcement tools at its disposal – for controlling and drastically reducing the effects of vehicle emissions pollution at source.

While, clearly, a huge step forward was taken – despite the teething problems – in reducing a major source of pollution through the wholesale replacement of the old bus fleet by the modern Arriva bus service, this regrettably has not sufficiently reduced Malta’s addiction to the motor car to have the environmental impact that had been hoped.

Similarly, measures to introduce a vehicle tax regime which leans heavily on those with the highest CO2 emissions and vehicles with the largest engines have not had the desired effect.

A number of basic areas have still not been tackled. The importation of second-hand cars which do not meet high emissions criteria should be severely penalised. Too many older trucks, mini-vans and private cars clog the roads. Above all, random emissions road-side testing should be applied more rigorously. The current laissez faire approach is much abused and clearly ineffective.

Until there is a determined effort to reduce Malta’s dependence on the motor vehicle with a shift towards smaller, cleaner, more fuel-efficient transport, the health and environmental effects of poor air quality and pollution will continue to take their toll.