November has seen the conglomeration of more than 200 world leaders in Scotland for the COP26, the United Nations summit about climate change. The COP26 was preceded by the United Nations’ report on climate change which stated in no unclear terms that humans were having an ‘unequivocal’ effect on Earth’s rising temperatures.
Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are presently higher than they have been for three million years and scientists predict that global temperatures will continue to increase unless drastic action is taken by all countries and major stakeholders on a global scale.
In an effort to reduce carbon emissions, the EU has set ambitious targets, namely the cutting of emissions by at least 40 per cent by 2030 and by 80-95 per cent by 2050, from 1990 levels.
Since road transportation is undoubtedly one of the major contributors of carbon emissions, it is becoming increasingly clear that the achievement of climate goals depends on a large-scale shift from vehicles with and internal combustion engine (ICE) to electrically driven vehicles (EVs) as the latter emit no carbon dioxide given that they do not burn fossil fuels.
Even though Malta is a very small country, it cannot shrug off its responsibility to try and reach the desired targets.
The National Statistics Office lately reported that the number of licensed motorcycles in Malta had surpassed 400,000 as at the end of last year – therefore, even though efforts have been made to make the Maltese population less dependent on private transportation, it is evident that the result has not been as positive as it was anticipated.
Unfortunately, one of the main reasons why Malta finds itself in this situation is a result of the fact that Malta was forced by the EU to change its taxation on imported used vehicles from other EU countries way back in 2009.
EU directives regulating transfers of used vehicles between EU member states dictated that registration tax levied on imported second-hand vehicles should reflect the depreciated value of the same vehicle.
This resulted in older cars, being taxed at a much lower rate compared to newer vehicles. These older used vehicles also happened to be the worst polluters.
As a result, more than 60 per cent of vehicles registrations ended being made up of these older and more polluting vehicles year on year until last year mainly imported from the UK.
This resulted in the average age of the car population increasing rather than decreasing as happened in other EU countries therefore resulting in much higher carbon emissions from private transport.
This situation persisted irrespective of changes in government even though small amendments were made to the taxation regime.
The problem, in a nutshell, was that while on the one hand government stated that it wanted to put down emissions and work towards cleaner options, it incentivised consumer behaviour which was in diametrical opposition to this eco-friendly thrust.
Even attempts at steering the general public towards alternative means of transportation did not shift the Maltese trend for people to desire owning their own cars as opposed to using public transport or sharing vehicles during their commute.
Malta therefore faces a big challenge when it comes to the transition from ICE vehicles to electric alternatives. It is good to say, however, that although the number of electric and hybrid vehicles remains at a low 1.5 per cent of the total vehicle population on the island, last year saw an encouraging increase of eight per cent from the previous quarter.
The number of cleaner cars being put on Maltese roads is bound to increase as a result of a few different factors.
Primarily the price of used vehicles from the UK is bound to increase by almost 30 per cent following Brexit, a blessing in disguise as this will help neutralize the influx of the highest pollutants.
There have also changes made in the testing procedure by the European Union resulting in a more accurate calculation of emissions and this coupled with the new mandatory emission reduction targets for new cars under EU regulation (EC) 443/2009 will help make a radical shift towards cleaner vehicles being registered in Malta.
There are critical factors which will determine the success of the transition towards electrification. Government incentives certainly help, and government has even committed itself to their increase during the last budget, which is encouraging.
There must continue to be adequate, convenient and effective charging solutions. There is also a commitment towards this and a lot of work is being done to increase charging points throughout the island. It is important to state, at this point, that there must also be separate facilities for larger vehicles such as buses, trucks, construction equipment and so forth as these have additional requirements to those used for lighter vehicles.
For this story to be a success there must also be well-trained and well-equipped authorised repairs facilities with ongoing training for workers as electric vehicles make use of rapidly changing technologies.
A regulatory legal framework should ensure that repairs are done in a highly professional manner to safeguard the health and safety of passengers.
Repairs to EVs by unqualified and untrained people could greatly endanger the lives of motorists, passengers and passers-by.
It is also imperative that the Civil Protection Department be trained to specifically deal with undesired eventualities from EV’s.
The challenges for the motor industry in Malta are many but with the right infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, training and the desire to reach targets, Malta should be capable of making a success story of this transition.
Deborah Schembri is Association of Car Importers General Secretary