You know it's time to be nervous when the PM tells you there is nothing to worry about.  You know it's time to get seriously worried when the Minister for the Environment (surely that must be a typo?)  tells you that Malta is, yet again, a world leader.

And you know it's time for outright panic when the Planning Authority tells you it is putting ’aesthetic planning’ and ‘heritage preservation at the forefront of its work. 

But, as the government (and the popular slogan) says, stay calm, forget what your eyes see, what your ears hear, what your nose smells and what your heart knows.

When it comes to the environment, climate change and that sort of stuff, your government is, apparently fully focused and on the case. Following Robert Abela’s triumph of ‘committed’ and ‘ambitious’ leadership on climate change at COP 27, the government has announced that it is to become one of the first countries in the world (well, actually one of the first 25 countries) to set up a dedicated Climate Action Authority.

Announcing the setting up of this ‘science-based’ Authority (no giggling please), Miriam Dalli, the Minister Against the Environment (another typo?) argued that the realities of climate change and the actions Malta needs to take require the ideas, involvement, and actions of everyone. Sounds excellent.

The new shiny ‘independent’ authority will be responsible for implementing European climate law and policies and will include climate experts on science, public policy, finance, the economy, and all social fields.  All will be ‘integrated’ under one roof to ensure effectiveness and co-ordination. Sounds logical.

Steady. Stay calm and forget what your eyes see, what your ears hear, what your nose smells and what your heart knows.

The Minister for Who’s Environment said that the community will have to adapt to the consequences of climate change - that a change in the way people live will be necessary.  Not only would this government undo the damage done to Malta but also that done to the world in the past.

Echoing this joined-up thinking from the Minister for What’s Left of the Environment, the Prime Minister added that while government must make important but difficult decisions, such decisions ‘should not burden our businesses and families’. All good then, nothing to be concerned about.

Never afraid to turn things on their head, Abela announced that what at first appear to be burdens or challenges, would be turned into the greatest "untapped solutions and opportunities" the country has ever witnessed.  It was time, he said for us to work differently so that the environment is at the centre of our priority. As ever, upfront, and courageous leadership.

Remember.  Stay calm, forget what your eyes see, what your ears hear, what your nose smells and what every fibre and nerve ending in your body knows.

Meanwhile, in some other parallel universe, the story is entirely different.  According to the independent Climate Change Performance Index Malta is not moving forward but is going backwards (down by 11 places to 29th in 2024).  The country is not listed as a ‘leader’ in any sense but as a ‘medium performing country’. 

It comes as no surprise to anyone living in Malta that the country is deemed to be lacking in ‘performance and enforcement’ when it comes to environmental matters.  But all this will, of course, change once the new authority is in place.

Elsewhere, evidence presented by the ecological footprint network demonstrates that Malta’s capacity to consume natural resources continues to very significantly outpace its ability to produce them, by a factor as high as eight.  If everyone worldwide lived in the manner of Malta, we would need 2.5 earths to support them.

Again, in that alternate universe, far from being a leader, Malta has ranked for many years among the top 20 most negative environmental contributors in the world for its size and population. 

Steady now, stay calm, forget everything you see, everything you hear, everything you smell and everything you experience.  They are but illusions, part of negative, scaremongering and ‘populist’ thinking. 

Instead, trust your government and especially your Minister for What Environment, for we are indeed truly world-class.