Climate Change is currently one of the principal threats facing nations worldwide, although the impacts of climate change will differ depending on relative vulnerabilities. Human activities, such as the combustion of fossil fuels and deforestation, have from the start of the industrial revolution led to higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere than was previously the case. These gases trap heat within the atmosphere, resulting in a general increase in global temperatures, with associated changes in climatic conditions. Indeed, the Fourth Assessment Report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has indicated that 11 of the 12 years between 1995 and 2006 have been amongst the warmest since 1850.[1] In Europe, the temperature is currently 1.4 °C warmer than pre-industrial levels.[2]

For a small island state situated in the southern European area of the Mediterranean, Malta is considered to be very vulnerable to the predicted impacts of climate change. Whilst Malta is not considered to be a significant contributor to global GHG emissions, it has taken on the responsibility to curb such emissions, illustrating that everyone is capable of taking a degree of mitigating action comparable to the nation’s capacity and capability.

[1]               IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). 2007. Climate Change 2007: Synthesis report, Summary for Policymakers, IPCC.

[2]               EEA (European Environment Agency). 2007. Europe’s Environment: The fourth assessment, EEA, Copenhagen.

Drivers for climate change mitigation

The key drivers of GHG emissions are socio-economic: demography, economic development, transport, etc. Malta’s 2008 Environment Report (www.mepa.org.mt/ter08-drivingforces) indicates that, while Malta’s population has largely met its basic material needs, the population continues to place unsustainable demands on the environment, putting strains on natural resources and processes. It also notes that the number of vacant properties on the Islands has continued to rise, with 22.4 % of all dwellings lying permanently vacant in 2005. Urgent measures, including economic instruments and reorientation of the construction industry towards rehabilitation, are needed to address this issue in ways that do not place undue pressures on affordability and availability of housing, and take into account social and economic implications.

The 2008 Environment Report also states that tourism is an important economic sector in terms of GDP, but that it puts significant pressure on the environment due to additional consumption of resources, increase in waste generation and land take for tourism infrastructure. The report suggests that the industry will need to focus on ensuring a quality product that prevents undue pressure on Malta’s natural resources such as by spreading tourism intake more evenly throughout the year, and penetrating those niche markets that are generally more sensitive and supportive towards conservation.

Importantly for this topic, the Report notes that Malta’s environmental targets and objectives related to air pollution and climate change can only be met by decoupling its growing total energy demand from economic growth.

The Islands remain far from reaching EU renewable energy and energy efficiency targets. In order to reach these targets, Malta will need to reduce consumption and develop widespread use of alternative technologies. Malta’s continued rise in vehicle numbers is a matter of concern due to the environmental and social impacts of private motor vehicle use. The high percentage of imports of older and more polluting second-hand vehicles is also of concern. There is an urgent need to renew Malta’s car fleet with smaller and more efficient vehicles and to make public transport alternatives at least as reliable and attractive as private car use.

Although it is small in terms of employment and contribution to GDP, the agriculture sector is a major environmental player. Agricultural practices may have serious impacts in terms of pollution on the countryside. However good farming practices can positively influence countryside and landscape quality, and sustain key environmental resources such as biodiversity, soil and water.

Malta’s GHG emissions are low when compared to those of other EU Member States, reflecting the small size of the country in geographic, demographic and economic terms.[1] Total GHG emissions increased by 49 % between 1990 and 2007. The flattening observed in Chart 3.4 could be the switch from coal for energy generation. The energy sector (including the energy industry, and transport and fuel combustion in the industrial, commercial, institutional and residential sectors) is the principal contributor (89 %[2] of total emissions in 2007) to Malta’s GHG emissions. While in 1990, emissions from energy stood at 1,855 Gigagrams (Gg), by 2000 they had reached 2,328 Gg, to increase to 2,692 Gg in 2007. The second most significant contributor to Malta’s GHG emissions in 2007 was the waste sector (6.6 % of overall emissions).[3] The contribution of agriculture and industrial processes is limited, both contributing approximately 2 %[4] of total emissions in 2007, while solvents and other product use contributed 0.09 % of total emissions. The category Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LUFLUF) indicates estimates of carbon dioxide emissions and removals by particular vegetation types. This sector is estimated to contribute a removal of 2 % of Malta’s emissions, with a mean figure of -58.2 Gg CO₂ sequestered annually between 1990 and 2007.[5]

In terms of emissions per unit GDP (in billion euro at 2000 prices), there was an overall decrease of 18 % between 1990 and 2007 falling from approximately 812 to 662 thousand tonnes per billion euro respectively. The decrease in GHG emissions per unit GDP may possibly reflect a degree of decoupling of emissions from economic development over the whole time period, although there are significant fluctuations when comparing shorter time ranges (for example between 2000 and 2005, when the trend was increasing).[6] With respect to per capita emissions, these grew by 33 % between 1990 and 2007, from approximately 5.47 tonnes per capita to 7.25 tonnes per capita respectively, although this trend seems to be stabilising over recent years.[7] At the EU level, ten Member States reported increasing per capita emissions between 1990 and 2006.[8] Despite this increase, Malta still had a relatively low GHG emission rate per capita in 2006 when compared to the EU-27 average, which in that year stood at 10.4 tonnes per capita.[9]

Source: NSO; NSO (National Statistics Office). 2006. Gross Domestic Product: Q3/2006. News Release No. 277/2006, 7 December 2006; NSO (National Statistics Office). 2008. Gross Domestic Product for 2007. News Release No. 39/2008, 10  March 2008; NSO (National Statistics Office). 2009. Gross Domestic Product for 2008. News Release No. 40/2008, 10  March 2009.

Chart 3.5: Fuel imports, GDP at 2000 prices and energy intensity of the economy as a percentage of the base year 2000 (2000–2008)

It is pertinent in this context to examine changes to the energy intensity of the economy, which is a measure of the energy Malta uses to create a unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This indicator is calculated on the basis of a ratio between total energy produced and GDP.[10] Total energy produced in the Maltese Islands can be estimated using net fossil fuel import values.[11] The overall trend since 2000 has been for the energy intensity of the economy to decrease slightly; should this trend continue, it may point towards a shift towards a relative[12] decoupling of energy consumption from economic activity. There is an urgent need to achieve an absolute decoupling of economic activity from energy use in the Maltese Islands.

The IPPC’s fourth Assessment Report[1] states that small islands have characteristics that make them especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea-level rise, and extreme events. Indeed, based on UN benchmarks, Malta is expected to suffer moderate impacts from climate change,[2] mainly related to drought, deterioration of freshwater quality and availability, increased risk of floods, soil and coastal erosion, desertification, changes in sea level and biodiversity loss and degradation.[3] As noted above, these impacts are expected to have an effect on human health, as well as on agriculture and fisheries due to the decreased period of rainfall, increase in flood intensity and reduction of soil nutrients as a consequence of run-off. It is also likely that fisheries may be affected by an increase in algal blooms resulting in a decrease in oxygen and changes in sea-water circulation.[4] Furthermore, due to Malta’s dependence on coastal activities, its economic vulnerability is expected to be moderate to moderately high.[5] However, as noted previously, these expectations are based on vulnerability assessments that to date may not have gone into sufficient depth and could be subject to significant changes if different approaches are taken. In order to address the uncertainties associated with the impacts of climate change in Malta, studies based on climate projections and impact scenarios relating to the islands are required, particularly since Malta’s small island characteristics make it especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change, sea-level rise and extreme events. Indeed, Malta will need to adapt to climate change impacts and ensure sustainable development and economic growth within a changing climatic regime.

National sectoral projections with respect to GHG emissions in the years 2010, 2015 and 2020 have now been prepared on the basis of existing and planned measures.[6] These measures are detailed below in the section on mitigation. In the energy sector (including transport), emissions are projected to decrease from 2,696 Gg CO₂e in 2007 to 1,936 Gg CO₂e in 2020 on the basis of existing measures, while with additional measures, a decrease to 1,782 Gg CO₂e is expected. In the industrial processes sector, emissions are projected to increase from 69 Gg CO₂e in 2007 to 70 Gg CO₂e in 2020. A decrease from 74 Gg CO₂e in 2007 to 69 Gg CO₂e in 2020, and an increase from 170 Gg CO₂e in 2007 to 279 Gg CO₂e in 2020 are expected in the agriculture and waste sectors respectively.

Responses to climate change address either mitigation or adaptation, although mitigation measures currently exceed those related to adaptation. In the area of mitigation, a raft of policies and measures has been initiated at a global, EU and national level. As an EU Member State, Malta is obliged to take on board all Community legislation that could result in the reduction or limitation of greenhouse gas emissions, including the EU Emissions Trading Scheme,[1] through which Member States determine respective caps for emissions of greenhouse gases from relevant installations in their territory.[2] For the period 2008 to 2012 Malta proposed an allocation of 14.8 million tonnes of CO₂e,[3] but this was later revised to 10.7 million tonnes of CO₂ following a decision of the European Commission. In the context of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)[4] under the Kyoto Protocol, WasteServ (Malta) Ltd has proposed to extract and use landfill gas from Ta’ Żwejra, delivering annual emissions savings of 19,000 tons of CO₂e. The project is at validation stage and is pending registration with the CDM Executive Board.

At the national policy level, there has been much activity regarding the promotion of energy efficiency and RES: draft Renewable Energy[5] and National Energy[6] policies were published in 2006, while a National Energy Efficiency Action Plan[7] and a revised draft Energy Policy for Malta[8] were published in 2008 and 2009 respectively. A Climate Change Committee also issued its consultation report in January 2009.[9] The 2008 EU climate-energy package[10] envisages a substantial increase in the use of RES for Malta by 2020.[11] In order to achieve this, Malta will need to invest in research and development, as well as commission a range of renewable energy technologies. The draft RES policy[12] identifies wind energy as one of the most cost-effective solutions, and as of end 2008, Government was assessing the viability of both onshore and offshore wind farms.

The principal climate change mitigation measures are documented in Malta’s biennial programme and measures report (Table 3.1).[13] They originate from a number of sectors, including energy, waste and land use, and make use of various mechanisms such as technical, regulatory, economic, voluntary and informational instruments. In the energy sector, four technical measures address energy supply,[14] while a mix of economic, technical, regulatory and information/education/research tools address energy demand and RES. The energy demand and RES measures have targeted a number of sectors: while economic instruments have been used in the residential[15] and industrial[16] sectors, voluntary measures have been taken in state schools and social housing, and technical[17] and educational[18] measures have been used at waste management facilities. The informational[19] and regulatory[20] measures did not target any particular sector.

Source: MEPA 2009 (MEPA (Malta Environment &  Planning Authority). 2009. Malta’s Biennial Report on Policies and Measures and Projected Greenhouse Gas emissions 2009, MEPA, Floriana.)

Table 3.1 Policies and measures considered most effective in reducing GHG emissions (December2008)

Various measures are in the pipeline for the transport sector,[21] while four regulatory and economic measures in the waste sector mainly target emissions and RES.[22] In the land use sector, afforestation projects should increase Malta’s area covered by permanent vegetation, while MEPA guidance[23] encourages energy conservation measures and the possibility of energy audits for major projects. However, the important role of development planning as a tool for mitigating and adapting to climate change needs to be recognised further. In this respect, mitigation and adaptation measures will need to be integrated within development plans and related subsidiary policies and regulations. Meanwhile energy and environment have become national research priorities,[24] while the University of Malta has developed a capacity in climate modelling.

There is still need, however, to sustain efforts towards achieving absolute decoupling of economic activity and GHG emissions. In this context, it is  important to initiate both supply-side measures, such as investing in a range of cleaner and more efficient energy technologies, including renewables and high-efficiency cogeneration, as well as demand management measures. These would include measures such as energy efficiency in buildings, and in the transport sector. These mitigation efforts, which are being carried out in the absence of specific scenarios, need to be in line with sustainability.