The climate challenge

December 2008 was characterised by two important high-level meetings taking place almost simultaneously: the UNFCCC conference of the parties in Poznan that paved the way for the crucial Copenhagen meeting in 12 months' time, which should seal the fate of a much-awaited post-Kyoto agreement, and the Brussels summit in which EU leaders approved a bold climate change and energy package.

Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino has also floated the idea that Malta should - or rather, intends to - join Annex I parties in the emerging post-Kyoto climate agreement. This implies that Malta's status within the international climate legal regime should transmutate into that of a developed nation with all the pluses and the minuses - not just environmental but also economic - that this entails. Malta's admirable intentions are unveiled on the 20th anniversary of Malta's historic move to put climate issues on the United Nations agenda.

The Poznan conference (Cop14), marking the half-way point between the historic Bali climate change conference and the ultimate goal of achieving a post-Kyoto climate agreement in Copenhagen in December 2009, was not one of the major breakthroughs in the global effort to combat climate change.

An official first draft of the agreement is expected by June. Cop14 was about technical discussions and decisions that should form the basis of a year of stiff negotiations leading towards Copenhagen. In 2007, the background to the Bali conference was the outcome of the IPCC fourth assessment report, which had made it clear that the urgency to act firmly on climate change was more than justified. A year later, the backdrop to Poznan was the global economic crisis that many delegates feared would put the global climate effort in jeopardy and this could have easily happened were it not for the message sent by the EU's approval of its climate change and energy package, the 20-20-20 agreement, coupled with an element of optimism that prevailed in the wake of the election of Barack Obama.

The December 2008 EU summit outcome makes it clear that it is no longer possible to discuss, let alone tackle, energy issues without taking stock of climate change considerations. As from now, Europe's energy security and diversification issues have to be addressed within the context of the 20-20-20 agreement that puts into focus the year 2020 by which time the EU27 should have cut down on greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent compared to baseline year 1990, increase the renewable energy share in total energy production by 20 per cent, while improving on energy efficiency to achieve a 20 per cent cut in energy consumption with respect to the projected 2020 levels.

Notwithstanding any scepticism, President Nicolas Sarkozy's piloting of the EU summit towards this agreement has been labelled by some as merging onto the historic, particularly when the bleak international economic scenario is taken into account. In the meantime, by way of a number of recent key appointments, Mr Obama has already sent some clear signals that he intends to make America turn over a new leaf on climate change and environmental policy in general. A more than welcome development indeed!

The fact that Malta's greenhouse gas emissions are insignificant compared to the rest of Europe and the world - for 2006, Malta's emissions amount to a total of about three million tonnes compared to the EU27 estimated 5.1 million - does not exonerate us from doing our part to combat human-induced climate change. Apart from the obligation to submit information on the status of our emissions to the UNFCCC secretariat and the European Commission, so far Malta's most onerous solid obligation in this area has taken the form of an annual capping of CO2 emissions from the Marsa and Delimara power plants, amounting to 2.1 million tonnes per year for the period 2008 - 2012, as prescribed by the Second National Allocation Plan, prepared as required by the Emissions Trading Scheme Directive. It is understood that this capping takes into account the full operation of energy-intensive major projects such as SmartCity and Mater Dei Hospital, both projects expected to have disproportionate effects on Malta's fragile energy infrastructure. Unless the renewable energy potential of these sites is tapped, on a local scale the impacts in terms of greenhouse gas emissions should be very significant.

As yet it is unclear whether in the long term Enemalta may be forced to purchase carbon allocation permits to cope with Malta's increasing energy demand. A major overhaul in Malta's energy infrastructure has been on the drawing board at least since 2006 when Enemalta published its electricity generation plan. The proposed offshore wind farm project is a move in the right direction especially given Malta's renewable energy targets. But the full implications of this project have to be assessed in the context of Malta's power grid connecting to mainland Europe.

As the new post-2012 climate architecture continues to unfold, tough negotiations shall be underway with the respective nations wanting to secure nothing else than a fair share of the burden the global community has to carry to combat human-induced climate change. Early in 2009, European leaders already shoulder the responsibility to oversee the implementation of the 20-20-20 climate-energy deal. Malta included.

Mr Pulis specialises in environmental management.