In six years at the European Parliament, she made a name for herself in the field of environmental challenges. A month into her job as Malta’s new Energy Minister, Miriam Dalli tells Matthew Xuereb her vision is green. 

You’ve been forceful at European Parliament level on carbon neutrality but when it comes to C02 emissions, Malta is one the worst performers in the EU. We even pay thousands of euros to Bulgaria because we can’t reach our targets. One of the reasons is transport. Is the government’s strategy to bring down carbon emissions short-sighted?

If everything were fine on our ambitions and C02 pollution, I would have probably not felt the need to contribute. So I acknowledge that we need to do much more when it comes to reducing C02 emissions and addressing greenhouse gas emissions. This goes beyond just C02 emissions.

I believe that we have an opportunity to reduce emissions from transport and also from buildings. When it comes to energy, we made a massive leap from heavy fuel oil as a source of energy to LNG, which is much cleaner. I believe we can still do much more on renewables.

My vision is to see how we can invest more in renewables.

What about transport?

That is an area where we can do much more. We have an amount of pollution that we need to reduce, and if we have a proper plan we can really reduce emissions in that regard.

I prefer speaking about zero-emission vehicles rather than electrification of vehicles. Because I’m sure that in the future, we’ll have technologies that are close to market or which are marketable, which are not necessarily only electrification. But it is a fact that, at this point in time, when you speak about zero-emission vehicles, passenger cars are mainly electric vehicles.

Our plan is to invest more there. We need to make sure we have more EVs on our roads, with the full understanding that the price today is more expensive than vehicles with an internal combustion engine. So, I see a transition that does not put extra burden on consumers. And we need to have more charging infrastructure because this will help the uptake of cleaner vehicles.

We already rolled out incentives for industries that rely on heavy-duty vehicles, like the construction industry, to replace their heavy vehicles with cleaner ones.

It will have to be a mix of these different incentives.

The government was looking into the possibility of banning the importation of fuel-powered cars. Is it still on the cards?

I was the chair of the cleaner vehicles commission and we were studying ways and means how we can reduce or ban altogether internal combustion engine vehicles from our roads.

But you must have a cut-off date, which takes into account technology advancements, which have to take into account supply of vehicles that will be possible for the Maltese islands, as well as the price issue.

There are different studies that indicate different things. Some indicate price parity by 2025, but others mention a later date. I’m seeing other countries taking the lead, and other cities that are banning internal combustion engine vehicles. I think we need to come up with a mix of different initiatives to incentivise and help people move towards zero-emission vehicles, and at the same time make charging infrastructure more accessible and widespread.

So there’s no cut-off date so far?

No, we don’t have a cut-off date.

Recently, there was a decision on a 55 per cent cut in emissions by 2030. Do you think it’s doable in Malta?

The long-term target is to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. For many people, it’s too far away and they might think we can postpone things. I’m not part of that school of thought. I believe we must have strict targets for 2030, and also strict targets for 2040.

It is clear there are just too many in Malta so the government is widening the roads to reduce traffic congestion. Do you agree with this strategy?

I don’t see one policy exclusive of the other. I think our infrastructure needed a definite upgrade. When I look at infrastructure elsewhere and what we had until a few years ago, there’s a big difference. Yes, having a proper infrastructure is part of the solution.

I am not saying it’s the only link in the chain but one of them. You will not have one solution that will address all the issues. It must be a mix of solutions. I’m saying we required the proper infrastructure. We need to start investing more in bike lanes.

Let’s switch to energy. Your predecessors built power stations. What is your grand vision for the energy sector?

I would like us to focus more on renewables. When I’m speaking about renewables, my vision doesn’t stop with EVs. I want to make sure we check all the possible alternatives to give cleaner energy to our people. At this point I’m not excluding anything. I want to make sure that all options being analysed are profitable.

If we depended on the interconnector it would have taken much more than 40 minutes to start getting electricity back

Including wind farms?

Yes, but also green hydrogen, which is still in its initial stages. But I would like us to be prepared if it can be an option for Malta. If we are going to invest in having proper infrastructure for energy sourcing, we need to make sure that we take the right decision. When you invest in energy infrastructure, you are investing in something for decades.

Let’s talk about security of supply [of energy]. What is being done to ensure that a blackout like the recent one doesn’t happen again, as everyone keeps blaming the interconnector.

It’s not a question of blaming. I’m proud of all the infrastructure projects that today give us the possibility to have a mix of energy sources because that is what security of supply is all about. Speaking of the interconnector, since we’re linked to another country, it carries an amount of risk.

Last time Sicily faced a storm it caused the interconnector to trip. We managed to start giving electricity back to people within eight minutes. Yes, it was very quick. But we could only do that because we had the LNG plant, which we could revert to. People tell you, why don’t you switch from one plant to the other?

It cannot happen that way because there will be a massive overload on the other plants. Imagine we had to depend only on the interconnector, it would have taken much more than 40 minutes to start getting electricity back.

Are we still looking into a second interconnector?

I’m looking at all the options at the moment. I’m not excluding anything.

What are these options?

We are looking at different ways to be connected more strongly to the European grid. Should we connect differently?

We are looking at electricity connections, hydrogen connections, a bigger share of renewables.

Talking about LNG, where has the gas pipeline project reached?

We applied for EU funds for that as well. It was turned down back in 2019 so we are looking at options on how to make it work, in the circumstances where we are moving towards carbon neutrality.

You’re also minister for afforestation. What do you think about the cutting down of trees?

I would like us to strike a balance. Even when we speak about development, for example, I would like us to make sure we have a balance between the need to develop, but at the same time create more green spaces where families can go. My aim is to try to see where we can create more of these spaces. I would like us to have a situation where people can go to smaller parks closer to where they live.

Do you think we’re reaching a balance in the building industry or has it gone haywire?

We’re basing ourselves on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These define exactly what the balance is all about. It’s not only about environment and climate action; it’s also about the social aspect. It’s about education, equality, infrastructure. It takes all these different criteria into account.

And when you speak about the balance, we need to make sure we create that kind of balance. We need to continue ensuring economic growth and economic prosperity. At the same time, we need to make sure we enhance social welfare, and that we have proper social protection for everyone as well as the environmental aspect.

Every year we’re told groundwater reserves are running dry and yet very little is being done to stop over-extraction and to stop abuse. What is the government doing in this regard?

Extraction of water is only one of the issues we have. When we speak about climate change, which for people might be an abstract concept, it is something that is impacting us today.

When you look at different studies, you see that the Mediterranean region is one of the most vulnerable when it comes to climate change. And that impacts also water supply and the salinity of water. So we’re working with the Water Services Corporation to make sure we start addressing these different issues.

Are we looking into the possibility of making second-class water potable?

There’s an issue of trust there. So you need to make sure that people actually trust what they are drinking. So it’s not a process that will happen from one day to the other.

The length of this interview has been condensed.