FoE (Malta) welcomes the commitment by the EU leaders to fight climate change. There were three major aims to be achieved by 2020: a reduction of GHG emissions amounting to 20% of 1990 levels; the provision of 20% of EU primary energy from renewable sources of energy, with the corollary of 10% element of biofuels for road transport; an exhortation urging each member state to cut energy waste by 20%.

The lack of sector targets for the overall GHG cuts makes the provision much weaker than it sounds. For instance, marine and aviation GHG emissions are not usually included in national GHG accounts. With the aviation sector being the fastest-growing GHG emitter, recently announced plans for European airport expansion could tear the target to shreds. How will the agreed measures affect Malta? The EU has already warned us that our latest request for CO2 emissions (2.9 million tonnes over 2008-2012) is too high. We have been asked to make a 0.8 million tonne cutback. Our first answer is that we will fight.

The Prime Minister again mentioned a connection to the European grid. The value of that will clearly depend on the Sicilian source of electricity feeding a Malta-Sicily cable. If we purchase high-carbon power, we have a high carbon account.

Changing our generation fuel to natural gas, as Enemalta has being saying lately, would have a significant effect on our GHG emissions. But providing a piped (gas) or tanker (liquid) supply will take time and money and some drive.

On the renewable fraction we, together with Cyprus and Luxembourg, were granted a special status because of size (we may have also slipped in our usual whine that we are a “developing” country). However, the PM’s “explanation” of our “wind energy” problems can only be described as uninformed- and this when government agencies have plenty of good information on the subject. Land-based wind turbines have been ruled out by diktat; the usual (mistaken) lament that the sea around Malta is too deep for the current off-shore technology to cope with was again heard. The only informed statement was the acceptance by the PM that siting turbines in 45-50m.of water is not yet very feasible.

Unless the official position on wind energy, as well as current incentives for Photovoltaic installation are reviewed, we will remain light years away from any reasonable target fraction of primary energy from renewable sources by 2020.