Climate change: health, fossil fuels and the excessive deficit procedure

During July 2023’s heatwave, in Malta, it was reported that 21 persons died of dehydration and other heat-related symptoms. The heatwave was compounded by repeated power cuts, which made matters much worse.

News agencies are reporting that intense heat in Saudi Arabia has, by the time of writing, has been the cause of over 1000 deaths of Hajj pilgrims to the holy city of Mecca.

Various environmental websites are commenting on a report just published by researchers at the University of Portsmouth on the heat risks of the Paris Olympics, due next month. The report, entitled Rings of Fire: Heat Risks at the 2024 Paris Olympics, warns, that excessive heat could result in athletes collapsing or even dying when participating in sporting events.

The report makes reference to the deadly 2003 heatwave in France: then, 14,000 persons died as a result of heat-related symptoms.

Much worse is expected this year. 2023 was the warmest year ever. The global average temperature during 2023 has surpassed the threshold of a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase over the pre-industrial age temperature agreed to at the 2015 Paris Climate Summit.

The European continent is warming at an alarming rate, much faster than other regions. The Mediterranean is much worse off. Earlier this week Euronews has reported that as heatwaves hit Cyprus, Greece and Turkey, death tolls are rising. In Crete, Athens and the Peloponnese peninsula temperatures have soared above the 40-degree mark, exceeding 44 degrees in Crete.

This is the present, unfolding before our eyes. The future can be much worse. It is not yet inevitable; however, it may soon well be. Earlier this year the European Environment Agency published the first European climate risk assessment. In a 425-page report we were told that climate change is a multiplier of risks: existing risks will get much worse. We are extremely slow in developing and implementing climate change adaptation strategies. Climate risks are growing much faster than our preparedness.

The impacts of climate change effect all of us, but most of all they effect the vulnerable amongst us. Whether it is floods or drought, extremes of temperatures or rising sea levels, at the end of the day it is the vulnerable and the poor who shoulder most of the burden which results. Environmental degradation and social injustice are intertwined.

Earlier this week Brussels has warned the tenant at Castille Place that Malta is risking being subject to the excessive deficit procedure in view of its excessive budget deficit. Among the essential measures, Brussels is insisting, once more, that Malta addresses fuel and energy subsidies as well as traffic congestion.

While fuel subsidies can be done away with the soonest, it is a different story with energy subsidies. They need to be redesigned in order to focus on helping the vulnerable. It does not make sense to subsidise everyone and everything.

Similarly with traffic congestion. We need to encourage activity which does not need a car. For example, the proliferation of supermarkets all over the island is making matters worse. Encouraging local shops of various sizes would encourage the regeneration of various urban areas and contribute to a reduction of car movements in our roads.

In this sense the regeneration of green spaces in or close to urban areas is a splendid idea. However, to make sense this initiative has to be integrated within an urban vision which places the human person and his/her needs at the centre of our land use planning.

A possible solution is the 15-minute city concept, mostly associated with Paris and architect Carlos Moreno. This initiative seeks to address our needs and integrating them with those of nature.

The aim is to encourage self-sufficient communities, where all basic needs are just a walk, or a bike ride away from your home. As a result, we would gradually be addressing our addiction to the car, which, as a result we would need less and less. There would even be less need of fuel subsidies. It is a realistic future, particularly in a small country, where almost everywhere is a stone’s throw away.

This is a practical application of the principle of urban proximity, as a result of which cities move away from the use of fossil fuels into a vehicle free era. It is the mobility modal shift we require in this day and age to effectively deal with the emissions linked to private transport. Thereby addressing subsidies, climate change and the excessive deficit procedure too!

This is the ideal future. Ensuring an adequate quality of life and respecting our surroundings.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday : 23 June 2024

Malta and the defense policy of the European Union

The issue of the development of an adequate defense policy has been on the EU agenda for some time. This is not only the inevitable result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it also necessarily follows from the Trump threats relative to NATO not only during his Presidential term but also in the current US electoral campaign.

This week, EU Parliament President, Roberta Metsola, emphasized that the EU would need to spend more of its funds on defense after the latest Trump threats. Earlier, Manfred Weber, the Bavarian leader of the European People’s Party (EPP), had spoken at length on the need for Europe to increase its defense spending and on the EPP’s proposal that the EU should invest in nuclear deterrence. Do we need this? France already has 300 nuclear warheads!

The defense industry, including that within the European Union itself, is undoubtedly lobbying intensively. An EU defense budget running into several billion euros would definitely be in their interest! In 2023 the EU’s military spending reached a record €230 billion.

Some years back Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) reported that the decision-making process for the EU Preparatory Action on Defense Research was heavily dominated by corporate interests. Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) is a research and campaign group working to expose and challenge the privileged access and influence enjoyed by corporations and their lobby groups in EU policy making.

A leaked draft of the EPP EU Parliamentary elections electoral manifesto indicates the proposal for the creation of a standalone defense portfolio in the next EU Commission.

Two EU Member states, Sweden and Finland, faced with the realty of Russian aggression against its neighbor Ukraine have abandoned their neutrality and sought NATO membership. Finland has already joined. When Sweden eventually joins NATO, 24 EU member states out of 28 will be NATO members, the exceptions being Malta, Austria, Ireland and Cyprus. Cyprus has in the past sought NATO membership but its application has been blocked by Türkiye.

In this context what is the significance of Malta’s neutrality? This is an essential debate, long overdue,  which should not be avoided, especially in view of the prevalent discourse in the EU at this point in time and particularly in view of developments on EU defense policy which are now inevitable.

Malta’s foreign policy has always been dependent on third countries guaranteeing its security. In the past it was an agreement with four countries, namely Italy, France, Libya and Algeria, which after the 1979 closure of the military base in Malta served this purpose. Nowadays this vacuum is filled by the provisions of the EU treaties as a result of which solidarity between EU member states signifies in practice that, in time of need, all the 28 states are there to help out each other. Even in matters of defense.

However, we know through experience that this does not necessarily work out. At the end of the day states do not have friends but interests which limit or enhance their actions or policy options. Within the European Union this is no different. The difficulties faced in addressing migration issues is a case in point: solidarity between EU member states has proven to be difficult to attain in practice notwithstanding the provisions of the EU treaties.

Security and defense issues are undoubtedly continuously on the diplomatic agenda. What results does not necessarily spill over in the public political debate.

Occasionally it is different: this happened in the recent past through discussions on the possibilities for a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between Malta and the United States of America around four years ago.

Particularly since the closure of the British military base, multilateral engagement has always been Malta’s preferred defense policy option.  It is hence in Malta’s interests that the European Union is in a position to adequately take care of its own defense. However, we need to participate actively in the EU defense debate, even if, as a direct consequence it may be necessary to re-visit and tweak our neutrality.

Protecting our interests signifies an active participation in the EU defense debate and applying the breaks, when necessary, to a rising militarism within the EU. At the end of the day, it is in our interest to speak up clearly.

published in the Malta Independent on Sunday : 18 February 2024

The 15-minute city

Every city can benefit from a reconsideration of its urban priorities. In this era of climate change various cities around the world have taken initiatives in order to contribute their share to the achievement of carbon neutrality. The 15-minute city is one such initiative which reimagines the urban fabric in order to prioritise people over cars, in the process reducing the carbon footprint: “ville du quart d’heure”, the “quarter hour city”. 

It is a vision which is mostly associated with Paris and is the brainchild of Carlos Moreno (in photo above) an architect advising the Mayor of Paris. It has however been also applied in various other cities around the world. The aim is to encourage self-sufficient communities, where all basic needs are just a walk, or a bike ride away from your home, as a result slowly addressing our addiction to the car which we would need less and less.

This is a practical application of urban proximity, as a result of which cities move away from the use of fossil fuels into a vehicle free era. It is the mobility modal shift we require in this day and age to effectively deal with the emissions linked to private transport.

It is not always easy to apply these ideas in established urban areas where land use patterns and infrastructure is already in place. However, it is a practical way of integrating policy derived from climate change objectives with land use planning.

In Malta distance is not an issue, as everywhere is already almost within easy reach. We do not need any special effort in this respect. Our National Transport Masterplan, in fact, advises us that 50 per cent of trips carried out by our cars are for short distances, having a duration of less than 15 minutes. Within this context, achieving 15-minute cities should not be that difficult if we put our heads together to address it.

In a post Covid era, working from home is increasing in frequency, although this is not possible for all types of work. This reduces our travel requirements.

We must also be able to address our basic needs for food and medicine in our locality. For this to materialise we need however to ensure that small and medium sized businesses in our localities are encouraged to stay open for business notwithstanding the stiff competition which they continuously face from big business.  There are ways in which they can be assisted to overcome the difficulties they face. This is not only in their interest but more in the interest of the community they serve.

The supermarkets mushrooming around the islands is a case in point. Each supermarket has a substantial catchment area. Most users of supermarkets travel by private car to do their shopping when it most suits them. In an age when most of us are more conscious of the fact that private car use is a significant contributor to Malta’s climate change impacts, we should factor this into land use planning considerations.

Some may argue that supermarkets, as a result of their economies of scale, provide goods at substantially reduced prices from that possible in small or medium sized retail outlets in our localities.  It has however to be viewed also in the context of expenses incurred not only in car use but also in the resulting reduction to the air quality and the associated health consequences. Expenses incurred, at the end of the day, are not only those measured in euro, they are also measured in terms of the social and environmental costs incurred.

We need to ensure that our localities are equipped to live up to present day challenges. Ensuring their self-sufficiency would definitely be an adequate objective which can be achieved through the development of 15-minute cities.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday : 4 February 2024

An alternative to supermarkets?

Supermarkets are self-service shops offering a wide variety of food and beverages as well as household goods. Having a substantial amount of floor space, they are usually close to residential areas and seek to attract custom through a broad selection of products, competitive pricing and convenient shopping hours.

When located in urban areas, they compete for space with the local community. The impacts of their operations within localities, is not what one would wish for close to one’s home. Both in the case of supplies delivered as well as a result of the customer traffic generated.

Identifying sites outside the development zone for supermarkets creates other problems. Foremost among them is that we cannot keep losing agricultural land and other ODZ land to development of any type.

As an issue of land use planning, it has not been addressed by the Planning Authority over the years.  It is a responsibility which the Planning Authority has abdicated and left to market forces to decide.  Surprisingly Local Councils have not spoken up about the matter, notwithstanding the substantial impacts which localities have to shoulder as a result.

Each supermarket has a substantial catchment area. Most users of supermarkets travel by private car to do their shopping when it most suits them. In an age when most of us are more conscious of the fact that private car use is a significant contributor to Malta’s climate change impacts, we should factor this into land use planning considerations.

The issue ties in with the 15-minute city idea which is being floated around as an objective in various countries, notably by Carlos Moreno, the architect advising the Mayor of Paris, but also elsewhere. If this objective is attained it would be a significant contributor to reducing car-use and the associated impacts.

The 15-minute city idea signifies that land use planning seeks to ensure that basic needs can be addressed within a 15-minute distance from our home. Among other matters this would signify that we would be in a position to find all our basic needs in retail outlets in our towns and villages. In such circumstances the car would be (almost) redundant. The objective of having self-sufficient localities is attainable over time through developing 15-minute cities.

Some may argue that supermarkets provide goods at substantially reduced prices from that possible in small or medium sized retail outlets in our localities. This may be correct and would generally result from their economies of scale. It has however to be viewed also in the context of expenses incurred not only in car use but also in the resulting reduction to the air quality and the associated health consequences. Expenses incurred, at the end of the day, are not only those measured in euro, they are also measured in terms of the social and environmental costs incurred.

Many more supermarkets are being planned. Can we afford the costs involved? At the end of the day, is it worth it?

The problem is much wider than that resulting from the uptake of land, be it urban or rural. It also involves substantial impact on existing retail outlets of a small or medium size within our localities. The number of supermarkets mushrooming across the islands is squeezing these small and medium size outlets out of the market. They cannot compete in terms of price and within a short time few of them will still be around unless they can group together. If they opt out of the market, our localities, will, as a result be much worse off.

This indicates a possible solution to the problem. The small and medium sized retail outlets in our localities should get together and organise themselves properly within a co-operative framework where they can pool resources. As a result, they would be able to offer products for sale at competitive prices. They can build up an economy of scale which could withstand the onslaught they are currently being subjected to. As a result, they can remain open for custom in our localities, contributing to their self-sufficiency.

We have not given sufficient weight to the cooperative model which, if properly applied in our localities, can provide a remedy to the impacts of supermarkets, possibly reducing their need.

Cooperatives based on the democratic participation of their members are a tool which can help us address the impacts of supermarkets on our localities. It is a realistic possibility which we discard at our peril.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday: 10 December 2023

Spażji miftuħa : 15-il minuta l-bogħod

Li jkollna żieda konsiderevoli ta’ spazji miftuħa, kif ukoll li nassiguraw li dawn l-ispazji miftuħa jkunu aċċessibli għal kulħadd hi politika tajba. Il-fatt li bħalissa għandna nuqqas ta’ spazji miftuħa u aċċessibli huwa riżultat tal-falliment tal-ippjanar tal-użu tal-art kif ipprattikat f’Malta. Sfortunatament dan hu orientat lejn l-ispekulazzjoni flok ma hu ffukat lejn użu aħjar tal-art bħala kontributur għal titjib fil-kwalità tal-ħajja.

Il-Gvern nieda proġett biex jinvesti €700 miljun ħalli jtejjeb l-ispazji miftuħa eżistenti kif ukoll biex joħloq oħrajn inkella biex iħajjar lil min jieħu inizjattivi f’dan is-sens. Ħadd mhu ser joġġezzjona għal proġetta ta’ din ix-xorta sakemm dan ma jkunx skuża li warajha tkun ser tinħeba xi ħaġa oħra li illum mhux dikjarata.

Biex proġett ta’ din ix-xorta jirnexxi jeħtieġ li jkun parti minn viżjoni fit-tul, viżjoni li mhux biss tħares lejn titjib madwarna imma fuq kollox tkun immirata biex in-natura terġa’ tkun integrata mill-ġdid f’ħajjitna u madwarna. Iktar minn investiment finanzjarju neħtieġu bidla fl-attitudni li twassal biex nibdew inqiesu l-ispazji pubbliċi bħala parti essenzjali mill-infrastruttura meħtieġa għal titjib fil-kwalità tal-ħajja tagħna.

Filwaqt li hu oġġettiv tajjeb li noħolqu spazji pubbliċi ġodda, u li ntejbu dawk li għandna, ikun ferm aħjar kieku bħala l-ewwel pass nagħmlu ħilitna biex inħarsu l-ispazji miftuħa li diġa għandna,  nħarsuhom u ma nħalluhomx jinqerdu.  Il-ġonna privati, uħud minnhom kbar, li jiffurmaw parti integrali miż-żoni urbani u mill-qalba tal-irħula tagħna ilhom żmien jinqerdu biex flokhom jinbnew blokki ta’ flattijiet.  Dawn għandhom ikunu minn tal-ewwel  spazji muftuħa li nħarsu jekk verament nemmnu fuq l-importanza tagħhom. Dawn il-ġonna servew bħala l-pulmun tal-komunitajiet lokali tagħna għal ħafna snin. Għalkemm huma propjetà privata dawn taw kontribut kbir għall-ħarsien tal-komunitajiet tagħna. Dan kollu ma jiswiex flus. Jeħtieġ biss ftit konsistenza u rieda tajba.

Imbagħad ikun imiss l-art agrikola li qed tintilef b’rata mgħaġġla. L-art agrikola ukoll hi taħt assedju:  qed tinbela fi kwantitajiet mhux żgħar mill-bini tat-toroq, proġetti ta’ żvilupp inkella minn min irid jirriżervha għalih għad-divertiment għall-BBQ jew picnic fejn jistrieħu ftit il-bogħod minn għajn in-nies.  Dan kollu qed jeqred l-għixien tal-bdiewa u tal-familji tagħhom li għal snin kbar ħadu ħsieb ir-raba’ b’tant dedikazzjoni u ipprovdew l-ikel għall-pajjiż.  Dan ukoll ma jiswiex flus. Jeħtieġ awtoritajiet li jaħdmu sewwa, li m’għandniex!

Ix-xewqa li lkoll għandna għal iktar spazji miftuħa hi rifless tal-ħsieb iberren f’moħħna li nerġgħu nistabilixxu kuntatt sod mal-egħruq tagħna, man-natura. In-natura hi ċentrali f’ħajjitna, u iktar nies, dan qed jirrealizzawħ u japrezzawħ. Dan ifisser li permezz tal-ispazji miftuħa irridu nintroduċu n-natura mill-ġdid fil-lokalitajiet tagħna bis-serjetà, u mhux li jitqegħdu xi erbat iqsari tal-konkos, taparsi sar xi ħaġa! L-ispazji miftuħa huma għan-natura u mhux biex tiżdied id-dominazzjoni tal-konkos fil-forom differenti tiegħu fil-lokalitajiet tagħna! L-anqas m’ghandhom jintużaw għall-parking tal-karozzi!

Ġie emfasizzat li dan il-proġett ta’ investiment fl-ispazji miftuħa għandu l-iskop li jassigura li kull wieħed u waħda minna jkollu aċċess għal spazju pubbliku miftuħ li jkun mhux iktar il-bogħod minn għaxar minuti minn fejn toqgħod. Dan l-oġġettiv jorbot mal-inizjattiva li ttieħdet f’diversi bliet Ewropej imsejħa l-belt ta’ 15-il minuta (15-minute city). Belt ta’ din ix-xorta għandha jkollha dak kollu li teħtieġ, fil-parti l-kbira mhux iktar minn kwarta l-bogħod mid-dar. Għax mhux l-ispazju pubbliku miftuħ biss għandu jkun fil-viċin: imma dak kollu li neħtieġu.

Dan iwassalna biex neżaminaw it-tifsila urbanistika tagħna, meta nirrealizzaw li l-ħwienet iż-żgħar tagħna li servew lill-komunitajiet lokali għal bosta snin, qed jonqsu sewwa. Qed jispiċċaw jinbeżqu mis-suq bħala riżultat tal-bosta supermarkets u stabilimenti kummerċjali kbar li qed jinfetħu.

Din l-idea tal-belt ta’ 15-il minuta (the 15-minute city) bdiet b’inizjattiva ta’ Carlos Moreno, arkitett konsulent tas-sindku ta’ Pariġi imma issa qed tinfirex ma numru ta’ bliet Ewropej. Tfisser tibdil sostanzjali fl-ippjanar għall-użu tal-art biex ikun assigurat li f’kull Belt jew raħal dak li normalment neħtieġu nistgħu nsibuh mhux iktar minn kwarta ‘l bogħodminn fejn noqgħodu.

Carlos Moreno jitkellem dwar il-ħtiġijiet marbuta mal-għixien fi spazju urban imfassla fuq sitt punti essenzjali: żona residenzjali adegwata, xogħol fil-viċin, possibiltà ta’ xiri ta’ oġġetti jew servizzi bla diffikultà, kif ukoll aċċess għall-edukazzjoni, servizz għas-saħħa u esperjenzi kulturali fil-qrib, ilkoll aċċessibli b’mezzi sostenibbli.

Nistgħu neżaminaw u nfasslu l-istil ta’ ħajjitna fl-ibliet u l-irħula tagħna f’dawn il-parametri?

Il-ħwienet żgħar fl-ibliet u l-irħula tagħna jeħtieġu l-għajnuna għax qed jagħtu servizz essenzjali li jagħti l-ħajja lill-komunitajiet tagħna: jagħtu servizz u fl-istess ħin joħolqu x-xogħol fil-lokalità. Meta wieħed jinkoraġixxi l-ħidma tal-ħwienet iż-żgħar fil-ħidma tagħhom ikun qed jagħti kontribut għat-tnaqqis tat-traffiku fil-lokalità f’kull ħin tal-ġurnata għax ikun hemm inqas ħtieġa li wieħed jivvjaġġa. B’hekk jintlaħaq oġgettiv ieħor fil-pjanijiet tal-Gven, jiġifieri t-tnaqqis tal-karozzi mit-toroq tagħna.

L-ippjanar għall-użu tal-art għandu jiffoka fuq in-nies u l-ħtiġijiet tagħhom. Hu biss f’dan il-kuntest li l-iffinanzjar ta’ proġetti ta’ tħaddir fil-komunità jagħmel sens.

ippubblikat fuq Illum: 29 ta’ Jannar 2023

Open spaces and the 15-minute city

Having a substantially increased area of open spaces and ensuring that these spaces are accessible for all is good policy. The fact that currently we lack accessible open spaces is a failure of land use planning as practised in Malta, which is unfortunately speculation oriented instead of being focused on optimisation of land use as a contribution towards an improvement in the quality of life for all.

Government is embarking on a €700 million project in order to enhance existing open spaces as well as to create or to encourage the creation of new ones. No one would object to that provided that it is not an excuse for a different and undeclared objective.

In order for such a project to be successful it must be part of a long-term view of enhancing our surroundings such that we bridge the substantial and ever-widening gap which separates us from nature. However, what is really needed is a change in attitude towards the availability of public space as an essential element in the basic infrastructure required for an enhanced healthy quality of life.

While it is definitely an acceptable objective to create new open spaces, we could do much better if, as an essential first step we strive to retain existent open spaces and save them from destruction. Private gardens, some of them of a substantial size, forming an integral part of our urban areas and village cores have for quite some time been making way for the development of blocks of flats. These should be the first obvious open spaces which we should seek to protect if we are serious about the importance of open spaces. Such gardens have served as the lungs of our local communities for ages. They are in private ownership but they still contribute substantially to the wellbeing of our communities. This does not entail any expense. All it requires is a dose of consistency and plenty of goodwill.

Next on the protection list would be agricultural land which is being lost at an ever-accelerating rate. When agricultural land is not being engulfed by road-building or building development it is being taken up by those who want to transform it into BBQ or picnic land, as their private recreational hideout.  In the process they squeeze out farmers who have tilled the land for ages and contributed continuously to the national food production effort. Even this does not entail any expense. All it requires is properly functioning authorities, which we lack!

The urge for more open spaces is a longing to re-establish contacts with our roots, that is with nature. Nature has a role in every aspect of our life. We can only keep ignoring it at our peril. This would primarily signify that open spaces need to reintroduce nature into our localities and not introduce a number of token planters in concrete pots. Open spaces are about nature and not about the increased domination of our localities by concrete in whatever shape or form! Nor should they be used as parking spaces.

It has been emphasised that the current project of investing in open spaces aims to ensure that each and every one of us will have access to a public open space not more than ten minutes away from where he or she resides. This objective ties in with a current initiative in various European towns of developing a 15-minute city: that is a local community which is almost self-sufficient, all needs, or most of them being available not more than 15 minutes away. It is not just public open spaces which ought to be close by: all our basic needs should be within easy reach.

This would necessitate that we examine closely our urban fabric to realise that the small commercial outlets which have served our local communities for ages are heading towards extinction. They are being squeezed out of the market through the ever-increasing number of supermarkets and large commercial establishments.

The idea of ‘the 15-minute city’ initially put forward by Carlos Moreno, an architect advising the Paris mayor, but adopted by an ever-increasing number of cities entails turning current urban planning on its head to ensure that all our needs are available not more than 15 minutes away.

Carlos Moreno speaks of a social circularity for living in our urban spaces based on six essential functions: to live in good housing, to work close by, to reach supplies and services easily, to access education, healthcare and cultural entitlement locally by low-carbon means.

Can we reassess the nature and quality of our urban lifestyles within these parameters?

Small commercial outlets in our towns and villages require support as they are an essential help to make our communities vibrant: being of service and creating local employment in the process. Encouraging the local commercial outlets also reduces traffic at all times of the day as there will be less need to travel. It would also directly help in achieving that other objective of reducing cars from our roads.

Land use planning is for people. It is about time that this is put into practice. It is only within this context that the funding of community greening projects makes any sense.

published in The Independent on Sunday 29 January 2023

Wanted: a transport policy which makes sense

Everywhere is within reach in the Maltese islands: distances are relatively small. It is, in addition, an established fact, documented in the Transport Masterplan, that 50 per cent of private car trips on our roads take less than fifteen minutes. Do we need to be dependent on private cars for such short distances?

Over the years public transport was neglected. In the absence of suitable public transport, and as a reaction thereto, a pattern of car dependency has inevitably developed. The resulting congested roads are a symptom of this fact rather than being, as suggested in Parliament earlier this week by a government backbencher, the direct consequence of an increase in the country’s standard of living.

There have been improvements in public transport in the last years: these are however insufficient. Having free public transport is a good but pre-mature initiative as public transport has yet to be efficient and reliable. The decision announced last week by Transport Minister to invest in cycle lanes, is welcome, even if it comes a little late in the day.

The heavy investment in road infrastructure over the years has been misdirected as it has focused on the effects instead of on the causes of traffic congestion. The financial resources utilised in the Marsa Road network, the Central Link and elsewhere, will, at the end of the day, prove to be monies down the drain as traffic congestion will build up once more. This is already evident even in these early days. Others have been there before us as is revealed by countless studies carried out all over the world on the link between traffic congestion and improvement of the road infrastructure.

It is only through the provision of alternative means of sustainable mobility that the problematic behavioural pattern we have developed over the years can be addressed. Moving away from car dependency will however be a very slow process if policy makers keep continuously sending conflicting signals.

Making it easier for the car user through more or better roads is no help in solving the problem. It will make matters worse. Likewise, the subsidisation of petrol and diesel is sending a clear message to all that car dependency is not even considered to be a problem.

Three specific factors are currently in play: traffic congestion, fuel cost and the transition to transport electrification. If properly managed, together they can help us move towards a state of sustainable mobility. The transition period is however necessarily painful unless it is properly managed.

Postponement in tackling traffic congestion properly will only make matters worse.

Improvement of road infrastructure has postponed the issue of tackling traffic congestion into the future. Fuel subsidies have added to the problem as they blatantly ignore it. Electrification, unless coupled with a reduction of cars on the road will add acute electricity dependency on foreign sources to our current problems. Energy sovereignty has been problematic for quite some time: it will get worse.

The second electricity interconnector with the Sicilian mainland will worsen our car dependency as a result of linking it with a dependency on electricity generated outside our shores. We know quite well what that signifies whenever the interconnector is out of service, whatever the cause!

We need to go beyond the rhetoric and act before it is too late. It is also possible to ensure that the vulnerable are adequately protected. This would mean that instead of having across-the-board subsidises, these would be focused on those who really need them. All those who have mobility problems should receive focused assistance to help them overcome the difficulties which could result from a modal shift in transport. We cannot however go on with subsidies for all: it is not sustainable, neither economically, nor environmentally or socially

Land use planning can also be of considerable help if it is focused on the actual needs of the whole community instead of being at the service of the developers. We need to ensure that each community is self-sufficient in respect of its basic needs. This will, on its own, decrease traffic generated by the search for such needs.

The climate change debate is a unique opportunity to rethink the way we plan our cities as one way in which to combat the climate crisis. The idea crystallised as ‘the 15-minute city’ by Carlos Moreno, an architect advising the Paris mayor, entails turning current urban planning on its head to ensure that all our basic needs are available within easy reach, not more than 15 minutes away.

Carlos Moreno speaks of a social circularity for living in our urban spaces based on six essential functions: to live in good housing, to work close by, to reach supplies and services easily, to access education, healthcare and cultural entitlement locally by low-carbon means. Can we reassess the nature and quality of our urban lifestyles within these parameters?

All we do is essentially linked. At the end of the day traffic congestion and the related car dependency are a product of our mode of behaviour.  Thinking outside the box, we can tackle it successfully, as a result unchaining ourselves from our car dependency, consequently adjusting to a better sustainable lifestyle.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday 20 November 2022

Malta: exporting abortion

The saga of the life-saving abortion required by American tourist Andrea Prudente has come to an end in Malta. Her case has now been exported to the Spanish island of Mallorca where hopefully it will be satisfactorily settled. The matter has been dealt with in a manner identical to the case of Maltese-Canadian Marion Mifsud Nora in 2014. Today’s case was exported by Malta to Mallorca while the 2014 case was exported to Paris. The support of their travel insurers to transfer them by air ambulance to foreign jurisdictions was in both cases crucial in overcoming the lack of the Maltese state in providing adequate medical care.

The Maltese state has failed Andrea Prudente. It had also failed Marion Mifsud Nora. Likewise, it fails to protect every Maltese woman faced with a life-threatening pregnancy. Maltese women in these circumstances unfortunately suffer in silence and rarely speak up. The Maltese state lacks empathy towards any woman facing a difficult pregnancy.

Apparently, the fundamentalists running Mater Dei have learnt nothing in the last eight years after they exported the Mifsud Nora case to Paris. This notwithstanding the opinion expressed publicly by a number of eminent jurists: that when a pregnancy endangers a woman’s life, its termination is already permissible at law. In such cases the termination of a pregnancy has even been described as being an act of self-defence, permissible at law.

Exporting these two abortion cases to mainland Europe adds to the abortion tourism which is known to exist between Malta and the European mainland, primarily with the UK and Italy, even though this is not limited to these two countries.

ADPD-The Green Party has been the only political party to continuously speak up about the matter. The silence of the others is deafening!

We need an urgent overhaul of the outdated abortion legislation on Malta’s statute books.

The least we can do is to ensure the urgent removal of any legal ambiguity currently shielding the fundamentalists running Mater Dei from intervening medically to terminate a non-viable pregnancy.

Members of the local medical profession are unfortunately in the same situation as their Irish counterparts who dealt with the 2012 case of Savita Halappanavar. They are afraid to act to protect the health of patients in these circumstances. In similar circumstances Savita Halappanavar died under the watchful eyes of the Irish medical profession who felt that they could not intervene due to the then legal prohibition of any form abortion in Ireland.

Ireland has in the meantime successfully learnt its lessons and immediately proceeded to dismantle its abortion prohibitions. This involved a national referendum which by over 66 per cent voted in favour of the proposal of a Christian Democrat led government (Fine Gael) to proceed with the introduction of abortion.

Ireland has learnt the hard way in order to proceed with ensuring that ethical pluralism in its midst is adequately respected.

The writing is on the wall.

While the other political parties have been generally silent, ADPD – The Green Party is one of two political parties in Malta to speak up. ADPD supports the decriminalisation of abortion and the introduction of abortion in limited circumstances, that is to say when the pregnant woman’s life is in manifest danger, in respect of a pregnancy which is the result of violence (rape and incest) and in respect of a non-viable pregnancy.

The export of abortion to other countries will not solve or address the deficiencies of Maltese abortion legislation which, enacted over 160 years ago, is long overdue for an overhaul to bring it in line with current medical practice and developments.

The Parliamentary parties are unfortunately not interested in all this. Their policies for the foreseeable future are still export oriented.

published in The Malta Independent on Sunday : 26 June 2022

Chernobyl revisited

Chernobyl in Ukraine on 26 April 1986, 36 years ago, was the site of a major nuclear disaster. All that came to mind once more when the Russian and Byelorussian forces invaded Ukrainian territory over two months ago.

The invading forces took over the Chernobyl nuclear power station site. Troops were observed excavating trenches around the site where the nuclear accident happened 36 years ago. It was only this week that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that the radiation levels at Chernobyl, after being tested, have been certified as being within safe limits; but it is definitely not safe for a picnic!

The nuclear clean-up at Chernobyl is ongoing. Starting immediately in 1986, it is scheduled to last at least until the year 2065. Possibly much beyond that!

36 years on, Chernobyl is still of concern not just to those living in its vicinity, but to all of Europe.

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster had brought many to their senses as to the dangers of nuclear energy, notwithstanding the sophisticated technology utilised in the industry. This was further reinforced by the Fukushima disaster, much closer in time on 11 March 2011. In the aftermath of Fukushima various countries opted for a phase-out of their dependence on nuclear energy. Germany led the way, our Italian neighbours to the North opting for a nuclear free future through a referendum in June 2011.

All this had a particular significance for Malta as it meant that plans for the construction of a nuclear power station at Palma di Montechiaro along the southern Sicilian coast, less than 100 kilometres to the North of Gozo, were mothballed. Southern Sicily as we know is an earthquake prone zone.

Occasionally there are rumblings of a renewed interest in the use of nuclear energy. The French government has for years been acting as a nuclear salesman all around the Mediterranean. It is known that agreements to set-up and operate various nuclear plants exist relative to various North African countries. Nicholas Sarkozy had even arrived at an agreement with Gaddafi just weeks before he was ousted.

Within the EU the debate is ongoing, at times spearheaded by the fact that the generation of nuclear energy emits relatively little carbon dioxide per kilowatt hour of electricity generated. Nuclear energy does however cause significant environmental negative impacts through the waste streams which it generates, namely spent nuclear fuel, rock waste at uranium mines and mills and the release of large amounts of uncontrolled radioactive emissions whenever accidents occur. The Chernobyl, Fukushima and the Three-Mile Island nuclear accidents are irrefutable testimony that the environmental damage resulting from nuclear accidents is not just enormous but also at times difficult to control.

The IAEA reports that as of 2022 there are 493 nuclear power reactors in operation in 32 different countries.  We tend to be aware of the major nuclear accidents at Chernobyl (1986) or Fukushima (2011), and possibly that at Three-Mile Island in the US (1979). Countless other “minor” accidents have however occurred over the years. In some cases, the accidents were under control just in time, avoiding their development into a major accident.

Our neighbours rejected nuclear energy twice in two different referenda, one in 1987 after Chernobyl, the other in 2011 after Fukushima. In 2011 the Italian government was planning to construct 10 nuclear reactors. These plans were only thwarted as a result of the 2011 referendum.

It is a responsibility of the Maltese government to be on the alert as these plans could be reactivated in the near future.  This would be a danger developing on our doorstep.

published on the Malta Independent on Sunday : 1st May 2022

It-turiżmu għarkuptejh

It-turiżmu hu ewlieni fost l-oqsma tas-setturi ekonomiċi milquta mill-pandemija Covid-19. Dan japplika iktar għat-turiżmu tal-massa li għadu s’issa settur importanti li fuqu hi dipendenti l-industrija turistika Maltija. Julia Farrugia-Portelli, Ministru għat-Turiżmu, (flimkien mal- Ministri għat-Turiżmu tal-Italja, Ċipru, Spanja, Franza, l-Portugall, il-Greċja, ir-Rumanija u l-Bulgarija) f’laqgħa virtwali iktar kmieni din il-ġimgħa fittxet kunsens biex jinħolqu kurituri siguri għat-turiżmu fit-triq lura lejn in-normalità u f’żona ħielsa mill-Covid-19.

Sfortunatament, tal-inqas fl-immedjat, irridu ngħixu mal-virus Covid-19 u l-limitazzjonijiet li ħoloq fuq il-ħajja normali tagħna. It-triq lura lejn in-normalità hi waħda twila. Ir-restrizzjonijiet straordinarji fuq ħajjitna li huma fis-seħħ presentment ma jistgħux jibqgħu għaddejjin b’mod indefinit u dan minkejja li illum huma meħtieġa.

Ir-restrizzjonijiet kważi totali imposti fil-gżejjer Maltin tul il-ġimgħat li għaddew kienu effettivi biex ikunu indirizzati il-biżgħat dwar is-saħħa. Bħala riżultat ta’ dawn ir-restrizzjonijiet, f’Malta, l-mixja tal-virus kienet imrażżna, kif jixhdu l-aħbarijiet ta’ kuljum imxandra mis-Supretendent dwar is-Saħħa Pubblika.

It-turiżmu qiegħed għarkuptejh. Prattikament waqaf, kullimkien madwar id-dinja, anke jekk temporanjament.

Fl-Unjoni Ewropea mit-turiżmu jiddependu qrib is-27 miljun impieg li jiġġeneraw madwar għaxra fil-mija tal-prodott gross nazzjonali. F’Malta u fil-pajjiżi ġirien fin-nofsinnhar tal-Ewropa, aħna dipendenti iktar mit-turiżmu mill-medja Ewopeja. Ix-xibka tad-dipendenza tal-ekonomija tagħna fuq it-turiżmu hi ferm ikbar minn hekk. It-tbatija kkawżat illum hi għaldaqstant ikbar u r-ritorn għal xi forma ta’ normalità inevitabilment tieħu iktar fit-tul.

Meta ser nirritornaw lura għan-normal? Ċertament li mhux fl-immedjat. Hu ferm dubjuż jekk din ix-xewqa għar-ritorn lejn in-normal magħruf tistax tintlaħaq, anke jekk inħarsu ftit fit-tul. Li hu żgur hu li ma hu ser jinbidel xejn mil-lum għal għada.

Iktar kmieni din il-ġimgħa l-Ministri tat-Turiżmu tal-Unjoni Ewropea iddiskutew inizjattivi biex jinkuraġixxu t-turiżmu intern fl-unjoni nnifisha u dan permezz tal-ħolqien ta’ speċi ta’ passaporti tas-saħħa bejn żoni ħielsa mill-Covid-19. Sakemm tibqa’ fis-seħħ il-miżura dwar iż-żamma ta’ distanza soċjali, l-proposta mhiex waħda realistika, ta’ l-inqas għall-futur immedjat u probabbilment għal bosta xhur wara.

Sfortunatament l-ivvjaġġar b’mod ġenerali, u b’mod partikolari t-turiżmu, għandu l-potenzjal li jservi għat-tixrid tal-pandemija bl-istess mod kif fil-passat kien il-kummerċ li serva biex xtered mard ieħor f’kull rokna tad-dinja. Fid-dawl ta’ dan, hu probabbli li t-turiżmu tkun fost l-aħħar mill-attivitajiet ekonomiċi li jibdew t-triq lura għan-normal, u dan wara li l-Covid-19 tkun taħt kontroll effettiv fl-Ewropa b’mod ġenerali.

Kulħadd jifhem u japprezza l-ħeġġa tal-Ministeru tat-Turiżmu biex jonqsu r-restrizzjonijiet fuq l-ivvjaġġar u allura fuq dawk is-setturi li minnhom hi dipendenti l-industrija tat-turiżmu. Sfortunatament, iżda, fil-futur immedjat dan mhux realistiku li jintlaħaq. Hemm dubji kbar anke dwar x’jista’ jseħħ fuq tul ta’ żmien.

L-ekonomija tal-parti l-kbira tan-nofsinnhar tal-Ewropa, u in partikolari dik tal-pajjiżi Mediterranji, hi dipendenti fuq it-turiżmu u dan billi tipprovdi vaganzi bi prezzijiet raġjonevoli tul is-sena kollha għal dawk ġejjin mit-tramuntana u ċ-ċentru tal-Ewropa f’kuntest ta’ suq Ewropew wieħed. Il-miġja tal-vjaġġi b’irħis mifruxa mal-Ewropa kollha komplew kabbru l-firxa ta’ din ix-xibka ta’ dipendenza.

F’dan il-kuntest huwa ċar li ftit jista’ jsir ippjanar bil-quddiem. Hemm ħaġa waħda li hi ċara: il-futur huwa nċert u t-turiżmu għad ma nafux x’sura ser jieħu fix-xhur u fis-snin li ġejjin. It-tbatija mhux ser tintemm hekk kif nieqfu nistennew. Għax it-turiżmu qiegħed għarkuptejh.

Ippubblikat fuq Illum: il-Ħadd 3 ta’ Mejju 2020