Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1302895
THERE is little doubt in my mind that Miriam Dalli's maiden speech was quite the ambitious and auspicious start in Mal- tese politics: she made climate change and the transition to car- bon neutrality by 2050 her most noble aim. Which means, I will be 87 by the time everybody's gone electric on our dirty roads, unless I should succumb earli- er than this great appointment with carbon's demise. I still think however that, even though climate change and our race towards carbon-neutrali- ty is indeed an existential quest we must embark on now, many of our politicians – Dalli, Aaron Farrugia, or Peter Agius – fail to appreciate a very immediate, challenging and pressing envi- ronmental target. And that's the preservation of our rural foot- print and the curtailment or the urban sprawl. In other words, halting the rampant destruction and decimation of our land as a result of short-sighted political decisions that have made plan- ning laws a joke. In the name of economic growth and labour supply we have jus- tified the most horrendous mis- takes in land use. Malta and Gozo are in a unique position even be- cause we have very limited space that would otherwise force us to have the most beautiful of islands. Yet we have reduced village cores to blocks of white and grey apart- ments, skylines have been dented by high-rise and the serenity of our countryside has been con- quered by cement blocks. And when politicians have cho- sen to speak up about this, they have been relegated to the histo- ry books and rendered periph- eral to the phalanx of ministers who were placed on finances and economy. Certainly enough, Malta will not be spared the ravages of climate change, not just in the rising heat it will foist on us and the effects it will have on food production, but also the contribution it will have to rising migration as climate displaces people in hot coun- tries and decimates their food supplies. In the meantime, the onerous obligations of the Paris accord require us to take on am- bitious carbon-neutrality targets. However, politicians who think that all we have to do is secure a front row in the preparation for the industrial transition and digi- tal shift just to hit the 2050 target should not fool themselves. If we build over the Lunzjata Valley in Rabat, Gozo or bulldoze through Wied is-Sewda in At- tard, nothing will bring back the lost footprint of our countryside, and with that, the loss of our bio- diversity and trees, our own car- bon sinks. The EU has no strong framework to stop governments from implementing policies that endanger our countryside, espe- cially when in a country like ours, the Labour administration treats the protection of birds and vege- tation with contempt. Miriam Dalli is expected to be entrusted with a ministry that will probably include various aspects of Malta's climate tran- sition targets and the aspects of competitiveness that go along with it. Certainly, she will find herself working in a local scenar- io in which compromise is far less elegant than the European corri- dors in Brussels, and concessions to partisan interests may even endanger the noble aims of the climate transition. Because beyond climate change, environmentalists and many peo- ple of simple, good will in Malta want an environment that is kept pristine for future generations in Malta. What they care about is wheth- er their valley will remain the val- ley they always knew, and if the coastline will remain the beauti- ful shoreline they always enjoyed. They will hope to see the flocks of migrating birds traverse over Malta and Gozo without being blasted from our skies and the sea they swim in clean and unpollut- ed and pristine. And over and above, they want the political parties to not be manipulated by the big business lobbies or the vociferous and bel- licose hunting lobby. And that is actually quite a tall order for any politician or big-majority party. Certainly enough, for politicians to grapple with the real environ- mental problems this country faces, they need to find the cour- age and energy to face up to this issue. Even well before 1964, the Maltese rural footprint has been misshapen and transformed. We have turned this exceptional island into a deleterious, urban sprawl that has taken away its beauty. It will take more than simple sweet talk to address this. It will require unusual political vision, courage and determina- tion to swim against the tide. Bernard's day Bernard Grech has been leader of the Nationalist Party for three weeks now. And beyond his pub- lic appearances, I have yet to see what he is proposing to change for Malta; who he has added to his team and who he also wishes to bring on board; but more im- portantly, what his priorities and concerns are. A day in politics tends to be quite long, and cer- tainly there's no mercy for pro- crastinators. Many are simply waiting to see changes. One would have ex- pected some major changes in his shadow cabinet by now. He cannot simply imagine that his chances of recovering the lost sheep in the PN will come about because of a simple change in leadership. Tomorrow in his Budget reply, Grech must be ready to outline part of his vision for Malta, not just a partisan riposte to Abela. Which leaves us with the proba- ble reshuffle in the Abela Cabinet that will happen in the coming weeks. Two new members to the Cabinet, will surely be Clyde Caruana and Miriam Dalli. Caru- ana will clearly replace finance minister Edward Scicluna and Miriam Dalli is expected to be entrusted with am ambitious cli- mate transition ministry. But Abela's reshuffle is a closely guarded secret, yet he will sure- ly decapitate some ministers. He should be wary not to shake the system since this could eventually lead to a backroom revolt, and he should distinguish between pop- ular ministers and capable minis- ters, while retaining the integrity of constituency ties to some form of executive representation. What he certainly should do is not to surround himself only with young Turks with little ex- perience and maturity and plen- ty of ego: a few 'no' people could set that balance straight. Abela should weigh the options with his closest advisers, which appear to be a small group that is rather fragmented. It is only question of time be- fore we know the end result. And when we do, it will be another op- portunity to watch out for the po- litical drama behind the scenes. 5 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 OCTOBER 2020 OPINION Where's our green deal on Malta's shrinking coutryside? Saviour Balzan