A number of NGOs slammed the government on Monday for inaction on climate change.
"Precious time has been wasted by past and present policy-makers while repeatedly missing targets on greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy production, and waste management. This is now costing us our quality of life, and will increasingly continue to do so for future generations in Malta," the NGOs said.
They referred to the recently published Sixth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which, among other things, warned of intense desertification and increased fire risk in the Mediterranean by 2050 unless global warming is kept below 2°C, a legal commitment governments made in The Paris Agreement in 2015. Malta, they said, was failing to keep the commitment and this summer is presenting a foretaste of these projections.
"Back in 2019, the Maltese parliament declared a climate emergency, but to no tangible end. Ministers occupy themselves with cosmetic projects and PR stunts while missing previously set targets by a mile. On 12th August, Minister (Aron) Farrugia even declared down-negotiating Malta’s target emission reduction from 36% by 2030 to 19%. This not only betrays a stark lack of ambition but demonstrates an under-appreciation of the urgency of the situation," the NGOs added.
They said that rather than tackling ultimate causes, the government was launching expensive projects of questionable intentions and doubtful results.
The government was also simultaneously allowing environmentally harmful activities to continue, cementing private car dependency, promoting over-construction, not seriously addressing water scarcity and food security issues and making no real commitment to halt biodiversity loss.
"There is no plan to address inevitable sea level rise, which would drown coastal infrastructure, shorelines, and result in the final destruction of our mean sea level water table in the lifetime of children alive today," they said.
"While Malta’s role in global emissions may be insignificant, it is no excuse to avoid launching serious mitigation and adaptation measures that ensure some quality of life for current and future generations living on the Maltese Islands. Climate policy should be at the core of every decision being made for the future of our country, as it addresses systemic concerns that have led to this dire situation. The current greenwashing and a 'business as usual' attitude points to poor governance unwilling to recognise the challenges ahead," they added.
The statement was endorsed by: ACT Malta, Attard Residents Environmental Network (AREN), BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Extinction Rebellion Malta, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, MaYA Foundation, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust Malta, ORCA MaltaRota, The Archaeological Society Malta, The Biological Conservation Research Foundation, BICREF, The 'Grow 10 Trees' Project and The Ramblers’ Association of Malta.