Malta needs to step up its plans if it is to reach EU emission-reduction targets and help save the planet from rapid climate change, according to a new analytical EU-wide report by the World Wildlife Fund.
The report gives Malta an F in an A to G scale, with A being the best score grade, even though it recognises different initiatives taken by the Maltese authorities in this area since the island joined the EU in 2004.
The WWF criticises various decisions taken recently, particularly the choice to use diesel technology for the extension of the Delimara power plant, and describes Malta’s climate change policy as still “leaving a mixed picture.”
“A more comprehensive climate plan is needed with targets and actions that go beyond 2020,” the report on Malta’s climate change policy notes.
“More measures are needed to cut fossil fuel dependency in the electricity sector. Mainly, the support mechanism for renewable energy needs increased stability and predictability and must be designed in a way to also allow non-domestic investment.”
The report cites various positive initiatives taken in this area in the past years, including the drawing up of a climate change policy with 96 concrete actions to be taken. It says Malta has a good support system so domestic users can install solar water systems that will reduce the use of electricity in Maltese households.
The report says the incentives should be put on a sounder footing as the system in place is too government-dependent and may cause “investment uncertainty”.
With regard to the generation of electricity, the biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions in Malta, the report harps on the need that Malta reduces its dependency on the use of fossil fuels.
Malta is the most dependent fossil-fuel country in the EU as it gets all its electricity needs through the burning of oil. However, plans are in hand for the development of alternative sources of energy, particularly through wind farms, although the plans are still embryonic.
With regard to transport, the second highest cause of pollution in Malta, the report notes there is still a “contradicting policy mix” and there are “no incentives for freight” to shift to cleaner modes of transport.
At the same time, the report praises Malta’s policy to incentivise the use of electric cars and says the island is on the road to reach biofuel targets.
Although, generally, the report does not give Malta a good grading on its efforts to limit climate change, the island is in the same boat as other much bigger and richer EU member states including Finland and Luxembourg, which also received an F.
According to the WWF’s Climate Policy Tracker, none of the EU member states has a policy framework needed to meet the target of an 80-95 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Denmark, Germany, Ireland and Sweden perform best, although they only achieve a D rating.
The WWF report notes that the overall analysis indicates that EU member states are only putting in a third of the effort required to curb greenhouse gas emissions to the levels avoiding the worst effects of climate change.