NEWS | Wednesday, 14 January 2009

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Friends of the Earth Malta is appealing to all Members of Parliament to give their full support towards a climate change Bill ahead of the vote to be taken in parliament tomorrow.
The initiative, a private member’s Bill drafted by Labour environment spokesperson Leo Brincat, is also being supported by BirdLife Malta, Din L-Art Helwa, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar (FAA), GAIA Foundation, Light Pollution Awareness Group, Moviment Graffitti, Nature Trust Malta and Zminijietna.
FOE said climate change was one of the most pressing concerns that will be faced by the country and the EU within the next five to 10 years.
“According to recent statistics the Maltese electorate is worried about escalating fuel and relative costs such as energy prices and an increase in surcharge rates. A legislation committing the country to a sustainability plan that tackles emissions and renewable energy will have to define strict parameters if Malta is to reach the targets set by EU regulations,” an FOE spokesperson said.
Friends of the Earth Malta is proposing that through the integration of environmentally friendly systems of transport and energy, CO2 emissions are reduced through legally binding commitments to cut emissions year-on-year.
These cuts should be equal to at least a 30% reduction of EU-wide domestic emissions by 2020 and 90% by 2050.
FOE Malta has been collecting signatures for a petition since February 2008 in order to make this a possibility and is in full support of the climate change Bill proposed by Leo Brincat.
Over 2,000 letters have also been sent by concerned citizens to all MPs asking them to commit their support to the new legislation in favour of a strong law tackling climate change.
“By supporting and committing themselves in legislating the bill, Malta’s politicians will be taking the lead and answering the call for a groundbreaking piece of legislation that all political parties should be proud of. The UK and Finland have already made this important step, whilst other countries such as Ireland, Austria and Belgium are in the process of enacting such legislation.
“Will Malta be one of the first countries to have a climate change bill or will it linger on until it ends up becoming one of the few with no legally binding strategy? Action on climate change will not be brought about simply by counting the number of reports available; no matter how good they are. The reality is that both reports and legally binding strategies are required in order to put our country on a path of sustainable energy consumption,” Friends of the Earth said.

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