The environment NGOs BirdLife Malta, Friends of the Earth Malta, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Gaia, NatureTrust and Ramblers Association of Malta express their concern that on Thursday April 8, Mepa will consider 16 applications for the sanctioning of works at the boathouse area of Dwejra, Gozo. A request for sanctioning means that structures, which have already been built, are in breach of Mepa regulations. In February 2008, environment NGOs had strenuously opposed the approval of some twenty applications to sanction abusive structures and accretions at Dwejra. MEPA approved these on the pretext that it would allow implementation of the Dwejra...

Thursday night’s screening at the Saint James Cavalier Valletta of the global fishing film, “End of the Line”, went down with quite a storm.  Government officials, including the Minister of the Environment, Honourable George Pullicino; NGO representatives, fishing industry representatives and the public were in attendance, and so were Charles Clover (the lead actor in the movie), Rashid Sumaila of the University of BC and Craig Dahlgren of the Perry Insitute, both contributors to the film. Malta was exemplified as being one of the key countries involved in the unsustainable fattening farms of wild caught tuna in the Mediterranean, where...

Friends of the Earth Malta together with seven other environment groups are calling on the public to join a National Rally in Valletta on 13th March, to raise the issue of ongoing environmental abuse and lack of law enforcement. The rally in Valletta is aimed at calling on the government to effectively enforce existing laws and put an end to ongoing environmental abuse including Out of Development Zone construction encroachment illegal hunting and trapping, destruction of heritage and EU protected Natura 2000 sites, violation of Malta’s Structure Plan, of the EU air pollution Directive and unauthorized groundwater extraction. The NGOs...

Commissioner Dalli Gives Green Light to GMOs A decision announced by John Dalli, Europe’s new health and consumer commissioner, to give the go ahead for genetically modified potatoes to be grown in Europe, has been condemned by Friends of the Earth Malta. The ‘Amflora’ potato, designed to produce starch for industrial purposes by Germany´s chemical giant BASF, carries a controversial antibiotic resistant gene which it cannot be guaranteed will not enter the food chain. Martin Galea De Giovanni, chairperson of Friends of the Earth Malta said: “This is a bad day for European citizens and the environment. The new Commissioner...

During a symbolic action held on the day that parliament reconvened after the holiday recess, Friends of the Earth Malta urged MPs to keep climate change and other pressing environmental issues on top of their agenda. MPs were presented with an FoE Malta 2010 calendar, featuring images submitted by various local schools. The monthly images form the letters ACT NOW made up of students in a bid to remind our politicians that immediate and drastic action needs to be taken to secure the future of our generation and the planet’s wellbeing from the expected threats of man-made climate change. We...

Hopenhagen turns into Copendisaster Commenting on the failure of rich country governments to secure a strong and fair UN agreement to tackle climate change in Copenhagen, Martin Galea De Giovanni Chairperson of Friends of the Earth Malta said: Politicians cannot call this outcome a success when in fact nothing meaningful has been agreed. Negotiations must now become even more intense to reach a just and effective climate agreement. The European Union and other rich countries have stood motionless when giant strides forward are required given the scale and urgency of the climate crisis facing the world. The world now needs...

Make your voice heard! Join us in Valletta Million of supporters of Friends of the Earth International worldwide want the United Nations (UN) climate talks talking place until the 18 December to become a milestone towards ‘Climate Justice’, but the chances of achieving a just and effective UN agreement in Copenhagen are extremely slim. To demonstrate their desire for climate justice, thousands of people are expected to ‘flood’ the streets of Copenhagen in the morning of December 12 in a march organized by FoEI to demand climate justice and an end to carbon offsetting, which is a false solution to...

Europe must commit to at least 40% emissions reductions by 2020 without offsetting Europe must commit to at least 40% reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 without offsetting, Friends of the Earth International urged today as European Heads of State meet in parallel to the UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen. The meeting of the European Council in Brussels on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 December will discuss climate change and emissions targets for the EU with serious implications for the ongoing international talks. The European Union has to date committed to a 20% emission cut by 2020, and pledged...

12.12.09 –  Beat the Change Friends of the Earth Malta will be joining millions of people around the world in a bid to raise awareness on climate change. A series of events will be organised in Valletta on the 12th of December to coincide with the annual United Nations Climate Talks which are taking place this year in Copenhagen, Denmark. The day will kick off at 10:00 with the launch of a short film called “Beat the Change” at St. James Cavalier, and a forum discussion on climate change – “Beat the Change – Invest in climate solutions”. Local food...