On June 13, Times of Malta reported Prime Minister Robert Abela saying the new interconnector project showed that the environment was one of his government’s priorities.
Should I congratulate the prime minister for taking a ‘better late than never’ cue from the Lawrence Gonzi vision for Malta’s electricity supply? Abela’s announcement that the government is to invest in a second interconnector also came after the Nationalist Party had already promised to do so in its renewed energy plan.
The first interconnector installed by a Nationalist administration has already proved to be a cheap and clean source of energy, only to be purposely set aside by the Labour government in favour of the Electrogas power station which delivers energy at a higher price for Maltese consumers and businesses while enriching a few chosen ones.
How credible is the prime minister’s assertion that the environment is one of his government’s priorities? In this regard, the continuity prime minister is as untrustworthy as his predecessor. His statement brings, among others, memories of Labour’s shady and environmentally damaging projects, such as the American University of Malta’s proposed development at Żonqor Point.
When originally proposed, the project was met with so much resistance that then prime minister Joseph Muscat was forced to change tack and announce that Żonqor will not be developed prior to an alternative site in Cospicua reaching full capacity. Back then, Muscat had reassured the environmental movement to trust his judgement on environmental matters.
Despite his reassurances, Cottonera residents had to fight off AUM’s application to extend the Cospicua campus that would have obliterated public open space and blocked the view of the historic bastions. The saga did not stop there. Muscat’s government had secretly promised the Marsascala Waterpolo Club a pool at sea within Marsascala Bay to make up for the planned construction of the AUM at Żonqor.
However, notwithstanding no foreseeable need of the Żonqor site by the AUM, under Abela’s continuity tenure, the Planning Authority granted the permit for the pool’s development within the bay, thus paving the way for the destruction of the seabed, further urbanisation, increased traffic, noise and parking problems. The public is being hit twice over: being deprived of the Żonqor site and losing part of the inner Marsascala Bay.
When eNGOs speak, they expect to be listened to- Robert Cutajar
But that’s just one single example of how Labour’s assurances are worthless. Just a few days before Abela’s interconnector comments, the NSO published some damning statistics on the occasion of World Environment Day. From 2010 to 2019, the area in the Maltese islands covered by agricultural land and natural habitats decreased by four per cent to 210 square kilometres.
That’s nearly nine square kilometres of agricultural land and natural habitats lost to urbanisation in just nine years.
The same statistics also show that, by 2019, a good 34 per cent of Malta’s land area had been developed. According to the European Environment Agency’s statistics, artificial land cover in 2012 stood at 30 per cent, so the change in built-up area from 30 per cent to 34 per cent took place from 2012 to 2019.
Furthermore, recently Times of Malta published appalling statistics from a study utilising satellite imagery carried out by a researcher at the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology. The study revealed that, from 2017 to 2020 alone, around 1.83 square kilometres of land previously covered by soil, trees and natural habitats was lost to development, including new roads. That’s an area equivalent to three times the size of Valletta. Insensitive road building by Infrastructure Malta must surely have contributed to this loss.
In March 2020, Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia urged the same eNGOs asked by Muscat to trust Labour, notwithstanding its poor environmental stewardship, to continue criticising the government “until we become the environmental movement we aspire to be”.
At the same time, the proposals put forward by the Nationalist opposition, based on the recommendations of the eNGOs, were refused by the Labour government.
When the eNGOs speak, they expect to be listened to. What the people expect is good governance for the environment.
We all need to recognise the stark reality that, unless the environment is truly the top priority of national policy, our quality of life has no hope of improvement.
Together with the critical role of the eNGOs, the PN is determined to help give the environment in Malta and Gozo a new breath of life.
Robert Cutajar, Nationalist Party spokesperson on the environment and climate change