Malta’s greenhouses gas (GHG) emissions have increased by over 50 per cent since 1990, although the island has no Kyoto commitments to reduce its emission levels.
The annual European Community GHG inventory report published Monday revealed that in 2005, 15 member states including Malta and Cyprus, the latter two states being the only without a Kyoto target, had GHG emissions above base year levels (1990).
Malta however did not provide any GHG estimates for 2005, which meant the latest data was based on “gap filling” – an estimate provided by European experts.
Since 1990, Malta’s emissions of GHGs – CO2 (carbon dioxide), CH4 (methane), N2O (nitrous oxide) and three groups of fluorinated gases (HFCs, PFCs and SF6) – increased from 2.2 million tons in 1990, to 3.4 million in 2005, experts said, resulting in a change of 54.8 per cent.
The change between 2004 and 2005 is said to have been 200,000 tons more of GHGs, an increase of 6.1 per cent.
Malta was the only member state whose 2005 inventory was missing, a recurring trend since 2001 according to the GHG inventory report.
The report is the annual submission of the greenhouse gas inventory of the European Community to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The report shows that between 2004 and 2005 emissions in the 15 pre-2004 Member States decreased by 35.2 million tons or 0.8 per cent, and total EU-27 emissions decreased by 0.7 per cent.
The emissions data show the effects of efforts made by European citizens, authorities and companies to reduce GHG emissions within EU.
The EU-15 has a common target under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions by 8 per cent compared to the base year.
The EU-27 does not have a common Kyoto target. Official reporting of emissions for compliance purposes under the Protocol does not begin until 2010 — when emissions will be reported for the year 2008.
In March however, the 27 heads of states in the European Council decided the EU should achieve a 20 per cent reduction of GHG emissions by 2020 compared to 1990.