A ban on the sale of diesel and petrol cars could come into effect “much closer” than 2040, Environment Minister José Herrera said.
Plans to eventually stop the importation of such vehicles were announced last year but, so far, there has been no indication of a possible cut-off date.
Speaking to the Times of Malta at the launch of a State of the Environment report, the minister said a switch to electric or alternative energy vehicles was the only way for Malta to improve its air quality and meet its emission-reduction targets.
Faced with questions that such an approach to improving air quality was too long term, given that countries like France and the UK have set their cut-offs for 2040 and 2050, Dr Herrera replied: “I have already appointed a commission with the involvement of the energy, finance and transport ministries and the aim is to make the target date much closer than you are thinking.”
Electric and hybrid vehicles still account for less than 0.5 per cent of vehicles
The State of the Environment report, which collates data from a seven-year period in several environmental sectors, notes the continued health problems associated with air pollution, citing studies that found higher rates of respiratory conditions among students in classrooms facing roads and which call for a modal shift away from private car use.
The report follows figures published by the European Environment Agency showing that 270 people died prematurely due to air pollution in 2016, compared to 220 four years earlier.
Dr Herrera said yesterday that with power station emissions having been reduced significantly after the phasing out of the use of heavy fuel oil last year, traffic remained the only area where reductions could be made.
“The only way you can deal with it is by capping the number of cars that use carbon,” he said.
“The other single option is encouraging people to use public transport or other alternative transportation but this is a mentality change. We have introduced a list of initiatives to encourage people but it’s not something you can impose.”
The Times of Malta reported earlier this month that experts were already studying different scenarios leading to the phasing out of diesel and petrol cars.
Government projections published in 2016 warned that electric car use was likely to remain “marginal” for the foreseeable future despite various schemes.
According to official figures, electric and hybrid vehicles still accounted for less than 0.5 per cent of vehicles as of March this year, with just 1,426 on our roads.