YOUTHECO is a 2-year Erasmus+ project that will support marginalized youth, such as NEETs and young women, in their re-skilling and upskilling towards the green economy.
Comino Clean Up with MAPFRE MSV Life
Over the weekend, a heartwarming and eco-conscious event took place on the picturesque island of Comino. An enthusiastic group of 25 volunteers, along with a furry friend, gathered to embark on a mission to restore and protect this tiny Mediterranean gem. The collaborative effort between MAPFRE MSV Life, a life assurance company in Malta, MAPFRE Middlesea, and the Ministry for Gozo brought forth a fantastic clean-up operation that left Comino shining even brighter. The event kicked off at the historic old Comino bakery, where the volunteers received a warm welcome and an insightful introduction to the island’s restoration project. This...
FoEM response to the Air Quality Plan published by ERA
Overall, we are glad to see the development of this Air Quality Plan for a main urbanized area of Malta and are happy to see the inclusion of environmental and health NGOs in the process of formulating this document. However, while a number of good measures are proposed, the measures need to have an overarching implementation and evaluation plan. Without targets, progress cannot be measured. Only the measures presented in Chapter 13 are accompanied by an implementation plan, the other measures outlined are not. The implementation plan lacks any targets that specify the ambition of the different measures. The implementation...
Unveiling Our New Look: A Fresh Identity for a Brighter Future
At Friends of the Earth Malta, we have always been committed to our core beliefs and values. We are committed and dedicated to ecological and cultural diversity, peoples’ sovereignty, human and peoples’ rights, equity, environmental, social, economic, gender, and racial justice, the intrinsic value of nature, and making sure people have a say in decisions that affect them. Our main goal is to make the world better and more sustainable, and these values guide us in that direction. Today, we are excited to introduce a significant change in our visual identity that reflects not only our growth as an organization...
Response to consultation on the National Cycling Strategy
In collaboration, three local NGOs – Rota, Friends of the Earth Malta, and Moviment Graffitti – have prepared the below response to the National Cycling Strategy consultation document. While the document contains several good measures, the scope and depth of the document is not proportional to the years spent working on developing a National Cycling Strategy / Policy. We find ourselves very disappointed that after all this time, all we got was a 25-page slideshow. This does not reflect neither the need nor the urgency with which a serious National Cycling Strategy needs to be drafted, finalised and implemented. The...
Say NO to the gas pipeline – don`t reward corruption and pollution
Corruption, assassination, and environmental destruction are keywords associated with the Electrogas power station and the Melita TransGas pipeline that Malta Government is proposing. Friends of the Earth Malta and The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation have launched a video as part of their campaign opposing the pipeline project. It uncovers the unsettling reality of the Electrogas project and the proposed Melita TransGas Pipeline which will lock Malta into burning fossil fuels for the next 40 years. The proposed Melita TransGas pipeline, estimated to cost €400 million, has been included in the EU’s fifth list of Projects of Common Interest (PCI), making...
November Plant of the Month: Rosemary (MT: Klin) Salvia rosmarinus
‘Dew of the sea’ is the meaning of the latin term rosmarinus. A name which has recently been the centre of a debate as the scientific world announced that our beloved Rosemary is actually a sage (pertaining to the Genus Salvia) … This confusing name change from Rosmarinus officinalis to Salvia rosmarinus was the result of studies on the plant’s DNA. Rosemary in Malta is indigenous but has sadly become quite rare to come by. In one of the few places where it grows in the wild, some old specimens reach even 2metres in height and often produce flowers throughout...
Which road leads to a multi-modal transport system?
FoE Malta is dismayed to see the ban on shared e-scooters, which represents the latest casualty in the field of shared mobility in Malta. Over the past year and a half, we have witnessed the main shared mobility providers in Malta exit the playing field: first car sharing operator GoTo announced their departure in September 2022, then bicycle sharing system Nextbike Malta shared news about their closure in December 2022 and ride sharing company Cool left the market shortly after in January 2023. These companies threw in the towel for various reasons, which included a lack of suitable infrastructure (in the...
#NoGasPipeline to Malta! Sign the letter to decision makers
Have you heard about the corrupt Electrogas deal and the fossil gas pipeline that might replace the LNG tanker? The proposed Melita TransGas pipeline between Sicily and Malta, estimated to cost €400 million, would lock Malta in a dirty fossil fuel future for decades to come. This goes completely contrary to the renewable energy transition we need. New fossil fuel infrastructure is incompatible with international climate goals. Furthermore, if the Melita TransGas pipeline were built, it would result in a pay out to the ultimate beneficial owners of Electrogas, who currently operate the gas-fired power plant. This includes Yorgen Fenech,...
Civil society groups condemn the approval of the Msida Creek Project
In collaboration, three local NGOs – Rota, Moviment Graffitti and Friends of the Earth Malta – have prepared the below response to the approval of the Msida Creek Project. We condemn the decision taken by the Planning Authority on the 12th of October, 2023 regarding the Msida Creek Project. The Msida Promenade with its surrounding businesses is an important public open space available within walking distance for Msida and Pietà residents. It is a natural valley right in between two of the largest education institutions (University and Junior College), hospitals, startups and some of the busiest business and residential centres....