Two announcements made recentlyby the government have serious health, safety, environmental and economic implications.

The first was the Prime Minister’s declaration that Malta is to set a cut-off date on the sale of petrol and diesel cars in a bid to reduce air pollution. He said that, following Malta’s phasing out of heavy fuel oil for electricity generation, the biggest challenge ahead was to reduce traffic pollution. He noted that some European countries have already announced they will be banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars in favour of electric or vehicles powered by different forms of energy between 2025 and 2040. A consultation period will shortly be launched to set the cut-off date.

In parallel, the Environmental Health Directorate is drafting a law that will cover the need for street vendors, who set up their stalls at busy junctions exposed to the poisonous fumes from passing traffic selling fruit and vegetables, and outdoor cafes and restaurants close to roads, in an atmosphere thick with dust and exhaust fumes, to follow stringent rules to protect public health.

Knowing the exponential increase of vehicular traffic over the last 10 years and the harmful effect of vehicle emissions as the major source of air pollution, such regulations should have been drawn up much earlier.

There has long been convincing scientific evidence that both public health and the environment (including built heritage, animal and plant life) are severely adversely affected by vehicle emissions. This is directly linked to increases in the incidence of asthma attacks and the risk of contracting lung cancer and heart and respiratory diseases.

Air pollution is a silent killer that strikes both humans and the larger ecological systems. Maltese citizens are daily subjected to the fumes and emissions of trucks and cars, which spread pollution into the air. Public policy has failed to protect citizens’ health from the effects of poisonous transport pollution.

The announcement that phasing out the current pollution-spewing technology in 10 or 30 years’ time offers hope of a future better world. But until there is a determined effort to reduce Malta’s dependence on the motor vehicle with a radical shift towards smaller, cleaner, more fuel-efficient transport, the health and environmental effects of poor air quality and pollution will continue.

Four years ago, the Labour government’s manifesto promised to tackle Malta’s toxic air pollution but little progress has been made. While the introduction of more stringent public health laws to protect al-fresco diners close to major roads and to prevent street vendors from selling produce close to places exposed to traffic fumes are long overdue good health and safety measures, the shift to more fuel-efficient, low emission vehicles should be encouraged through further targeted tax measures that penalise high emission gas guzzlers and encourage zero-emission vehicles.

While clearly there is an exciting case for planning for a major switchover to new advanced pollution-free technology in or around 2025 – and dumping diesel and petrol vehicles on the scrap heap – there is a paramount need to take all practical steps immediately to slay the dragon of air pollution produced on our traffic-clogged roads. Too many people will still die of pollution-related illnesses between now and 2025.