Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1206972
12 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 2 FEBRUARY 2020 OPINION ON behalf of Alternattiva Demokratika last week I com- mented that the National Air Pollution Control Programme (NAPCP) document on which there was a public consultation exercise, fails set out – black on white and unequivocally – measures which measurably re- duce dangerous emissions from vehicles, namely NOx (nitrogen oxides). The Environment and Re- sources Authority (ERA) chose to reply and "to point out that air pollution remains one of its ma- jor concerns and that it is not its intention to minimise the issue. ERA has always been consistent in stating that the major source of air pollution in urban areas is road traffic. This is confirmed by data emanating from the real time monitoring stations man- aged by the Authority." It is heartening to see that ERA employees, technical and scien- tific staff, at least are very aware of the sources of pollution and the need to control them. However I am also aware of the fact that while ERA staff, based on science and technical know-how, do propose meas- ures to reduce pollution from vehicles in urban areas such as low emission zones, the minis- ters from the Gonzi era to the recent Muscat Cabinet, repeat- edly water down the proposed measures such as to make them ineffective. It is a well-known fact that transport minister Ian Borg and also former PM Joseph Mus- cat see reducing vehicle access to polluted areas as a vote-los- er. They pathetically label any pollution charges as 'taxes', ignoring the serious health effects of pollution. It would be interesting to know whether Robert Abela and Aaron Far- rugia think it is high time that pollution is tackled head- on. If we want to look at it from the economic point of view, a healthier pop- ulation makes economic sense, and means a less crowded hos- pital and lower medicine bills. It is true that there have been decreases in the amounts of some pollutants because of the improvements in power genera- tion such as the shift to gas. AD has always supported a shift to gas as a transition fuel on the path to a zero-carbon econo- my. Of course the shady dealing with a corrupt foreign govern- ment and promises of €5,000 a day to a government minister and the PM's head of secretar- iat, shifted the discussion from energy to graft and corruption. However, any suggestions that urban air quality has improved because of the changes in ener- gy generation is not science; it's just government propaganda. The decrease in the amounts of some pollutants has not had such a great impact on urban air quality, because in urban areas it is road transport which needs to be tackled. Here's what the NACP says. On page 44, table 2 says that in the scenario "with measures" Malta will emit a total of 4.9 kilotons of NOx when the limits are only 2kt. With so called "ad- ditional measures" proposed in the draft action plan emissions go down marginally to 4.5kt (page 68). Let's remember that the main effects of NOx is the increased likelihood of respiratory prob- lems, especially in children and older people. NOx inflames the lining of the lungs, and it can reduce immunity to lung infec- tions. This can cause prob- lems such as bronchi- tis. This pollutant can also cause more frequent and more intense asthma attacks. This NOx comes from the combustion of fuels at street level. The reform of the pub- lic transport system has also achieved results, but this is clearly not enough. Malta Pub- lic Transport's electric bus pilot project is also laudable. Much more needs to be done by gov- ernment, however. This in- cludes the aforementioned low emission zones in urban areas, making streets safer, and putting in place safe travel corridors for bicycles and pedelecs. Instead of encouraging micro-mobility solutions, government intro- duced ridiculous regulations on micro-scooters! Another short- to medi- um-term measure would be im- plementing a Bus Rapid Transit system, with lanes in our roads reserved exclusively for buses. More and more areas should be pedestrianised and made off limits to vehicles. ERA can talk all it wants about buses, how- ever the increase in vehicle reg- istrations and the free-for-all on our roads cancels the small gains in sustainable transport. The document for consulta- tion states clearly that "more effort is needed to reach our 2030 targets" with respect to NOx. Quoting from the doc- ument on page 12: "Although NOx emissions from power generation have decreased by 91% between 2005 and 2017" – and here comes the clinch- er – "NOx emissions from the road transport sector have not reduced. While there are sever- al sustainable measures that are being implemented in the road transport sector, this effort is masked by the daily increase in newly registered vehicles on the road, making this sector a major contributor to NOx emissions." The two scenarios modelled in the document are the following (pg 12): The "With Measures" scenar- io: "The measures included in the 'With Measures' (WM) sce- nario consist of the use of clean- er fuels in the power generation and transport sector, the public transport reform, sustainable mobility measures, roadside checks and roadworthiness test- ing, grants and schemes in the road transport sector, energy efficiency grants and a number of good practice measures in the agricultural sector." The "With Additional Meas- ures" scenario: "The measures included in the 'With additional Measures' (WaM) scenario build on the WMs scenario, with addi- tional measures mostly focused on road transport. These include free school transport, the study related to the introduction of a low emission zone in the hub, additional sustainable mobility measures, electric buses in Gozo, road infrastructure measures, public transport quality corri- dors and the improvement of ferry landing places. The WaM scenario also includes measures in other sectors such as a permit- ting regime for emission sources not yet regulated by EU legisla- tion…" I reiterate Alternattiva Demokratika's observations that not enough is being done or proposed to be done to re- duce dangerous NOx from road transport. The document itself says so. "Notwithstanding the above-mentioned measures, projected data for the WaM scenario shows that more effort needs to be employed for Malta Ralph Cassar Pollution control measures: vague, cowardly and business as usual Ralph Cassar is secretary-general of Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green Party ralph.cassar@alternattiva.org.mt