European Commissioner praises Malta’s efforts in saving energy, water

"Energy and water are not only an issue for Malta but also for all countries," Hedegaard told the press this morning after holding talks with Resources Minister George Pullicino at Villa Francia in Lija.

"While an efficient desalination system is important, ultimately it is the culture of saving energy and water that makes the difference. This is very much what the Maltese government is pursuing."

Hedegaard conceded that there were many challenges which Malta faced with regards to CO₂ emissions and greenhouse gases, when asked how she would rate Malta's efforts in reducing such emissions.

"A lot of effort is being put into this, but Malta will still need efficient initiatives in order to live up to the commitments that it has. But I must say that it's my very strong impression that many good forces have realised this," she said.

Hedegaard added that all EU Member States needed to exploit all the possibilities, including increasing the use of solar energy.

On the Delimara power station extension, Minister George Pullicino said it was "important to remember that the issue is not the fuel used but what actually comes out of the whole system".

"It's like comparing a 30-year-old car which runs on diesel to a modern car running on the same fuel. The emission of the modern car is much less than that of the old car," he said.

He added that the Delimara plant, running on heavy fuel oil, was not only up to European standards but that it goes beyond what the EU expected in term of emissions.

"The plant will actually help us to reduce 400,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually, also through the closure of the Marsa power station," Pullicino said.

On water preservation, Pullicino said that water metres have been installed "to each and every" groundwater borehole used by commercial entities.

"We will now allow a one-year monitoring period. If we can still sustain such activity, we will set up a price regime for water extraction," he said.

Briefing the press on the talks, Pullicino said government had briefed the Commissioner on Malta's plans in terms of mitigation and adapting strategies to address climate change.

"We are actually the 13th European country out of the 27 Member States to publish the strategy," Pullicino said.

This ranking was described by Hedegaard as "not bad".

Pullicino said he also briefed the Commissioner on the difficulties being faced with regards to the development of the Sikka l-Bajda wind farm.

An Environment Impact Assessment has already been carried out on the 100-megawatt offshore plant. The EIA has requested a further study in order to assess the negative impact that the farm might have on the breeding grounds of a particular bird.

"We intend to carry another study on the impact. We're hoping that we can implement the wind farm that will give us almost 30% - one third - of the 10% renewable energy target that we have," he said.

Pullicino said that the two sides had also discussed the maritime industry and its impact on climate change.

"Although we are in favour of moving forward towards the curtailment of greenhouse gases coming from the maritime sector, we are for a global solution. A simple European-wide solution would have a very big impact on our maritime industry and also manufacturing and servicing industries," he said.

Commissioner Hedegard said that "early next year the Commission will be presenting an adaptation strategy which will be a call of strong encouragement for the Member States to try and formulate an adaptation strategy".

She said that a more efficient energy system would not also mitigate climate change, but would also relieve the weight from the current macro-economic situation.

"We are importing so much fossil fuel from outside Europe that this is weighing down on our economic situation. Only on oil, last year Europe spent €315 billion," she said.