Climate and Energy

Climate Change is now universally recognised as the biggest threat that our planet faces, with overarching impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and human societies. The burning of coal, oil, and gas, as well as other human practices such as intensive agriculture and deforestation contribute to the generation of excessive greenhouse gases that pollute the atmosphere and lead to climate change impacts across the globe.

Not only is climate change posing significant environmental issues, but it is increasing social inequality within and between countries. We believe that rich and industrialised countries are most responsible for the climate crisis, so these must act first and foremost to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Malta is no exception to this, and Friends of the Earth Malta is seeking to influence the government to make positive changes in policies that prioritise the wellbeing of both people and the planet.

The next challenge for our organisation is to lobby the Maltese government to stop investment in fossil fuels, including new fossil fuel infrastructure, and to commit to a solid renewable energy plan, as well as promote energy efficient practices among the various local industries. This will allow Malta to meet international emission targets, and ensure a healthier planet that is also liveable for future generations.

Watch the video here!

Show your support as a citizen of Malta, and send the below postcard to the Minister for Environment, Energy and Enterprise, Dr Miriam Dalli.

Friends of the Earth Malta has put forward the following demands, on behalf of the citizens of Malta:

No new infrastructure for fossil fuels! The 400 million euro of Maltese taxpayers money that would be spent on the Melita gas pipeline should be invested in renewable energy production in Malta.
Domestic renewable energy production should be able to cover Malta’s essential electricity needs! An assessment should be made to determine what is the baseline requirement of the country to provide electricity to the reverse osmosis plants, hospitals and other basic needs. A secure and reliable supply of energy should be available locally to meet these essential needs, to ensure Malta can withstand external shocks.
Hydrogen cannot be used as a veil to greenwash the fossil gas pipeline project! If green hydrogen is to be part of Malta’s future energy mix, we demand a national plan that outlines a timeline and information about the sourcing, production and foreseen use in sectors.
Imported electricity should come from renewable sources! Global climate change does not care about outsourcing our emissions to another country. Electricity demands are expected to increase, as a result of the shift to electrification of sectors such as transport. Malta should collaborate with neighbouring countries to show demand for and invest in renewable energy production for our electricity imports.
Malta should enable and promote community energy initiatives! Malta should transpose the revised Renewable Energy Directive, which includes community energy initiatives, which was due in June 2021. Large-scale energy projects are vulnerable to corruption and big business interests. Community energy initiatives are essential in the transition to renewable energy and the creation of a democratic and decentralized energy system.
No public money should go to Electrogas shareholders! The Melita gas pipeline project will trigger the payment of a gas exit price from the Maltese government to Electrogas, to compensate for the assets the energy company would hand over. The Electrogas deal has been described as a “highly irregular procedure” by the Council of Europe (CoE) assessment and was the subject of investigation when journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered. Taxpayers money should not end up in the pockets of businesses being investigated for corruption and criminal offences.