The Planning Authority should defend solar rights for all in support of efforts to reduce the impacts of climate change, ADPD chairman Carmel Cacopardo said on Saturday.

Addressing a news conference, he said the authority can contribute in a practical manner towards achieving zero-carbon in construction by prioritising and guaranteeing access to solar rights in land use planning.

This should supersede other planning rights, such as that of additional floors on existing buildings.

Addressing a news conference in Floriana, Cacopardo said there is also the need to improve the power distribution network to enable urban zones to contribute more in renewable energy generation.

He added that investment in solar energy generation pays and is sustainable even when considering its long-term impact.

And although the government is planning a second interconnector with Sicily, it is, at the moment, curtailing the use of the current due to the phenomenal increase in energy prices in Europe.

Cacopardo said the shift from petrol- and diesel-fuelled cars to electric vehicles will bring about a proportionate increase in energy demand. This should be counterbalanced by a substantial increase in renewable energy generation.

Solar rights, he insisted, should no longer be at the mercy of unbridled development and an insensitive land use planning process.

The increase in permissible building heights introduced when the 2006 lot of local plans was approved had a heavy price-tag in renewable energy sacrificed. “We are still paying this price and it will be quite some time before we recover from this irresponsible impact,” he said.

General secretary Ralph Cassar said climate change remains the greatest challenge of current times and in spite of all the rhetoric, the policies of the two main parties reveal a lack of understanding of how serious the situation is. 

“There’s no time for fooling around. Land use planning should address with urgency its impact on climate change by also implementing a strategy of reducing our carbon footprint, among other measures. Unless decisive action is taken soon it can only get worse,” he warned.