Alternattiva Demokratika Chairperson, MEP candidate, Arnold Cassola, and spokesperson on sustainable development and local government, Carmel Cacopardo, hosted Luxembourg Green MEP Claude Turmes and representatives from NGO’s for a consultation meeting on various topics including energy and climate change.

Alternattiva Demokratika councillors Ralph Cassar and Michael Briguglio and representatives from Friends of the Earth, Nature Trust, Birdlife, Ramblers’ Association, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, and Zminijietna – Voice of the Left attended the meeting.

The NGO’s expressed their concern that the consultation periods and process for projects are too short and hasty. The government’s Committee on Climate Change did not include civil society and NGO’s active on the issue. It was also pointed out that the government had promised to close down the inefficient and polluting Marsa power station twice, in the 1990s when the Delimara power station was promoted as a replacement for Marsa and prior to the EU accession in 2004. The government promises were not honoured in both instances. This shows that certain declarations on the government’s part cannot be taken seriously. NGO’s also said that when they offered to conduct studies on windfarms the government did not take up the offer.

Arnold Cassola said that only now is government saying that it will study land based windfarms when experts, NGOs and Alternattiva Demokratika have been calling for a roadmap and studies on land based windfarms, which are at least a third of the price of offshore wind farms repeatedly for years on end. Arnold Cassola reiterated the party’s call for the government to publish the studies carried out so far on the promised offshore windfarms. Government should declare and make public all the information and data it has for a proper and serious public discussion to take place and in which all stakeholders can participate on a level playing field, he insisted.

Energy expert and Luxembourg Green MEP Claude Turmes, awarded the European Voice MEP of the year for garnering cross-party support for ambitious targets to develop renewable energy said that the Maltese Government, like all other governments in the EU, will have to present detailed plans on renewable energy. He said that the renewables sector can create millions of jobs throughout the EU and also lots of job opportunities in Malta.

Turmes said that AD’s proposals for 50,000 solar water heaters for 50,000 families over the next 5 years and for 5,000 photovoltaic systems over the next 5 years for 5,000 families are a good step in the right direction. He suggested that the Maltese Government should do its utmost to attract investors in new technologies such as solar cooling, solar panels and other new technology as a way to tackle the energy crisis, combat climate change, help Malta and Gozo reach EU targets and also create hundreds of jobs in the process.

Sliema and Attard local councillors Michael Briguglio and Ralph Cassar brought up the issue of lack of access to rooftops on apartment blocks. Michael Briguglio said that access to rooftops must be legally guaranteed if we want people to be able to invest in solar water heaters. He said that even with government subsidies thousands of people are prevented from taking the initiative simply because they are not guaranteed the space require to install such apparatus.

AD spokesperson on sustainable development and local government Carmel Cacopardo called for MEPA to draw up a policy on micro-wind turbines and insisted that households and families should be incentivised to invest in new technology. He insisted that we have a mentality of going for huge projects when investment in lots of small projects – such as micro-generation from clean sources by individual households and industry will add up and have the same effect as one or two large projects with all the problems large projects bring with them.

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