The forthcoming Budget must tackle climate change, ocean health, and green growth, Partit Demokratiku has warned.

“Small nation states are most vulnerable. Potential catastrophic effects on biodiversity and human communities are bound to affect us drastically. Government’s insensitivity speaks for itself. It is useless crying wolf and government does not act positively,” leader Godfrey Farrugia said.

Malta needs to adopt stringent low emission technologies, an eco-friendly infrastructure, clean energy production, and a reduction of industry and transport emissions. The latter should include reduction of aviation and shipping emissions.

“Our land transport system is choking us to death. Government has touted roadwork congestion relief as a solution when all that is being done is what traffic planners call ‘induced demand’ for more vehicles on our roads,” added party member Timothy Alden. “The present short-sightedness is bound to affect the well-being of my generation, more so since no accessible and reliable mass transport system exists,” he further added.

The party said the government needed to step up budget incentives that induce decarbonisation of land transport by having zero emission vehicles. Trading petrol and diesel vehicles for electric cars must be encouraged and the possibility to convert diesel and petrol cars to use LPG fuel should be studied.

“If it is clean for the power station, LPG should be clean for our roads. Other countries are trying it. Why are there no LPG fuel stations?” stated party member Marcus Lauri.