The COVID-19 pandemic’s reach and devastation has presented an urgent challenge to humanity.

It has shone the spotlight on not just the opportunity but the necessity of building back better in its wake, to reassess, re-evaluate and reshape our lives, to foster resilience and solidarity for the uncertain years that lie ahead.

For smaller nations, the opportunity to effect change may seem like a mere drop in the ocean against giants such as the US and China. But we all have our part to play in finding radical new ways to address both the challenge of coronavirus, which may well remain part of our lives for some time to come, and the urgency of  climate change, which requires both immediate and long-term action.

Scotland is reaching out the hand of friendship to other small nations across the world to work together on transformative solutions. As the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Malta in my capacity as a Scottish National Party MP at Westminster, I was delighted to host a recent meeting with the Maltese High Commissioner to discuss bilateral relations between our two countries.

Scotland and Malta have much in common. As a small independent nation with a strong voice in Europe, we Scots see much to admire in Malta’s progression since gaining sovereignty in 1964 and joining the EU in 2004. We share concerns on the challenges of Brexit and the coming economic storm, with predictions that both our countries will be hit hard by the UK’s exit from the European Union, the effects of which are already being felt during this short transition period before full Brexit in January 2021.

Scotland and Malta have much in common- Douglas Chapman

In my role as chairman of the APPG at the House of Commons, we want to show the people of Malta that we are keen to collaborate and build relationships between our countries. Sharing ideas on clean growth, green investment and innovations in renewables are just a few examples of where this positive partnership can develop and grow.

With this in mind, I was delighted to read about the Maltese Environment and Resources Authority’s National Strategy for the Environment. The ERA has highlighted the core value at the heart of this strategy as being one of ‘well-being first’, learning to live well and prosper within our ecological limits, and will involve the public in a consultation process on its development and re-evaluation of economic growth.

This mirrors similar concerns in Scotland, where we too are reassessing our relationship with the natural world and how to evolve an economy that is both environmentally sustainable and ensures social and economic well-being.

When our First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, launched Scotland’s Wellbeing Economy Government’s Policy Labs back in 2019, she invoked the words of the great Scottish philosopher and economist, Adam Smith, to illustrate that a nation’s wealth should not be measured merely by its “gold and silver reserves”, where growth can only be of value if it makes people’s lives better.

In Scotland work continues to embed a much broader understanding of economic success into the fabric of our society and our aspirations for a progressive future, promoting sustainable and inclusive growth to raise living standards and quality of life for all.

This focus on well-being has been enthusiastically embraced by the Scots. We see ourselves as a country with a keen respect for fairness and equality of opportunity. We value our natural resources and we want to protect our rich landscape and wildlife. A recent ERA survey in Malta revealed that your citizens are anxious about how you care for your environment and are calling for change; it would seem that the Scots and the Maltese are very much on the same page in the search for a greener balance to our lives.

The twin threats of the global pandemic and the climate crisis show that growth at the expense of the environment does not improve our lives and cannot protect our citizens.

Malta and Scotland have much to contribute to the wider global commitment to address these pressing issues with radical change and decisive action. As small nations with big ideas about our future, we are a vital part of this movement. Let’s keep talking!

Douglas Chapman is Scottish National Party MP.