A sustainable way of life

Even before the global pandemic hit, we knew that climate change was hurting our planet. Global warming does not simply mean extreme weather conditions. It is a real crisis affecting our wellbeing. Simply put, climate change is bad for our health; it means extreme weather leading to negative impacts on agriculture and food; it threatens water security; it is bad for the economy.

We have been talking about living more sustainably for quite some time now. Whilst there have been worldwide campaigns on sustainability and sustainable development, the understanding of it to many remains ambiguous.

Let’s face it – global leaders had not been deeply committed, with actions, to a greener environment and a green economy… until a global pandemic hit and their healthcare systems felt the tremor and their economies almost collapsed.

Within my portfolio, I am responsible from energy, enterprise and sustainable development. Throughout my work I have come across companies trying to become more sustainable, entrepreneurs coming up with innovative ideas and children and youths expressing their wish to see greener initiatives across Malta and Gozo.

Together with my team, we have been working hard on establishing policies. Our action plans are guided by how these policies can be adapted in our day-to-day lives. Sustaining the workforce, communities and the environment are on top of my agenda and I will keep on pushing to prioritise these three collectively.

A small business owner only has a limited amount of time and budget he can commit to supporting his local community. That’s where we come in, with schemes and incentives that can help the hard-working businessman be part of the change to support the wellbeing of our citizens. By investing in energy efficient equipment and buildings, we are reducing emissions, thus helping to have cleaner air. Improved air quality is beneficial, ensuring healthier lives.

The environmental impact goes far beyond greenhouse gas emissions alone and my commitment is to work tirelessly to improve Malta’s performance in this sector especially, when it comes to energy and the electrification infrastructure.

One such example is the development of a solar farm in Qrendi, which is planned to generate one million kWh annually, equivalent to the consumption of 250 residences. By the introduction of similar projects, we would be enabling the possibility for people who do not have access to a roof to invest in a source of solar generation.

I have recently announced the largest investment in renewables to date for households, and more will be announced in the coming months in this sector. My aim is to enable people to think beyond today and enable households and businesses to invest in systems that help to extend the equipment’s lifetime and limiting the possibility of waste generation.

We are also looking at concrete possibilities of tackling the issue of solar access and we are doing this jointly with other ministries.

While I do understand that there are challenges along the way, I also believe that sustainability and achieving climate neutrality by 2050 is also about investing in research and innovation while driving demand for new technologies and breakthrough ideas. To sustain this, we are launching the second call for Research and Innovation projects by the Energy and Water Agency. I strongly believe that there needs to be a mind shift for people to start understanding that sustainability is truly ingrained in their day to day lives and that the government will keep on working with the aim to support and educate the general public in this regard.

Change does not happen overnight, but it has to be planned strategically and holistically through a staggered approach. My drive is that sustainability will now remind you of the opportunity you have to engage with my vision, so that you will not be part of the problem, but part of the solution I am determined to deploy.