On Friday 6th November, Friends of the Earth Malta held a climate forum to close the international photographic exhibition on climate change, The climate is changing are you? The exhibition was very successful, attracting lots of attention, questions and feedback from visitors. The selected 18 photographs were exhibited between September and October in Sliema, Birgu, Santa Venera Birkirkara and at University. The climate forum was held as a platform to discuss the threat climate change poses locally and what strategies are required to provide long-term solutions. Guest speaker Eur. Ing. Charles Yousif explained that energy efficiency measures and renewable energy...

Friends of the Earth Malta together with the Environmental NGOs Nature Trust (Malta), Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Light Pollution Awareness Group, Din L-Art Helwa and BirdLife Malta  welcome the news that Parliamentary Secretary Dr Jason Azzopardi has successfully reclaimed the area between Fomm ir Rih and Gnejna.  This sizeable tract of relatively unspoiled land and coast is not only considered to be of high ecological importance but also has high landscape value. Thanks to this recommendable move by Dr Azzopardi this part of Malta is now public property and can be enjoyed by both Maltese and tourists alike. The NGOs...

In what can be considered a truly global event about a global issue, Friends of the Earth Malta and St. James Cavalier hosted the age of stupid, a new epic from McLibel director Franny Armstrong. In a cinema filled to capacity, viewers at St James joined another million viewers in 63 countries to watch the global premier of what has been cited as one of the most important films of our time. Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate...

The Environmental NGOs Friends of the Earth Malta, Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Ramblers Association and Nature Trust (Malta), Birdlife Malta and Din L-Art Helwa have  expressed their disappointment and concern as to how the Enforcement Unit within the MEPA Environment Directorate is being dismantled and officers in this unit were being distributed into other units within the same authority The NGOs voice their concern that environmental law enforcement within Mepa has already been very poor.  With such a strategy it will now become worse and a free-for-all situation.  This move simply shows the low level of commitment accorded to environmental...

 Friends of the Earth Malta would like to commend government for following up on the long promised Eco-Gozo plan. This should hopefully serve as a test case which would eventually lead to a similar plan being implemented on a national level. However such a plan would not be comprehensive unless it undergoes a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). As no mention to SEA is made in the press statement issued by the Ministry for Gozo, FoE Malta questions whether such a study has been made or is forthcoming. If this were not the case, then it does not add up...

Friends of the Earth Malta is launching an international photographic exhibition on climate change on Tuesday 15th September at Sliema’s Independence garden at 7.30pm, titled ‘The climate is changing… are you?’ It’s not so difficult to realize that climate change is happening in Malta as well as in the rest of the world but how deeply are these changes influencing our life and our perception of the world around us? Friends of the Earth Malta challenged youth and adults with an international photo competition on the themes of the visible effects of climate change to better understand how people feel,...

The environmental NGOs BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, Gaia Foundation, Nature Trust Malta and the Ramblers Association today slammed the Siggiewi Mayor Perit Musumeci for his request for the police to investigate FAA Coordinator Astrid Vella. The NGOs stated that the authorities should investigate the notorious planning applications from the Mayor’s district that went against the MEPA policies and were approved by MEPA boards, and not environmental campaigners who brought these cases to the public’s attention. The NGOs drew attention to the fact that in 2005 alone Mr. Musumeci, who is...

Scotland’s climate bill sets precedent for Europe Friends of the Earth Malta has warmly welcomed the groundbreaking Climate Change Bill passed in Scotland this week. Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) voted for a target to reduce greenhouse gases by 42 per cent by 2020 – the most ambitious statutory target in the world. The vote followed an overwhelming display of support for early action to cut emissions from scientists, Scottish celebrities and campaigners who travelled to the Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, to lobby their MSPs. Friends of the Earth Malta said: “With this law Scotland is leading the...

The environment NGOs BirdLife Malta, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Friends of the Earth Malta, GAIA Foundation, MOAM, Nature Trust (Malta)  and Ramblers Association highlight the fact that the Authorities’ pledge to protect the countryside has once again been put into question by MEPA’s recommending the approval of a development project partially outside the development zone (ODZ) at Tal-Marga Valley, Qala, Gozo. As in the recent Wied il-Ghasel case, the proposal to build apartments and underlying garages is unsuitable for a site that is mostly out of the building scheme. Even more seriously, the excavations will take place in the area...

Environmental NGOs BirdLife Malta, Din l-Art Ħelwa, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar, Friends of the Earth, the Gaia Foundation, Nature Trust Malta and the Ramblers Association of Malta have today called on MEPA to uphold its commitment to the environment and stop the outdoor event organised at the Buskett Roadhouse this coming Saturday. The party, which will host foreign DJs in Buskett, will be equipped with extremely powerful lights and sound effects including; laser, LED, Eye Blinders effects and fireworks, according to information provided by the organisers. Buskett Gardens is protected under both national and international law, and is listed as...