Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1426475
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 7 NOVEMBER 2021 OPINION There is a tendency in this country to use words and expressions without actually knowing what they mean. And judging (ahem) by certain things I happened to have read this very week… this one seems to be another of those widely misunderstood expressions… Josianne Cutajar answer to the first question, too. Right: enough about how 'ap- pealing' I may or may not be, in terms of other people's stand- ards and priorities… because a rather disturbing thought has suddenly struck me. My hair. I've just described it as 'the last remaining unspoilt natural ecosystem in Malta', ha- ven't I? At a time when certain government ministers seem to be addicted to destroying nat- ural ecosystems, wherever they can find them… and replacing them with multi-storey apart- ment blocks instead… Yikes! Sorry, folks, got to dash… I've just had a vision of Ian Borg chasing me across the islands with a large pair of gar- den shears… Josianne Cutajar is a Labour MEP (S&D) A socially conscious energy transition OVER the past weeks, energy prices have been making considerable news all over Europe. While prices have remained con- stant in Malta, thanks to the Labour ad- ministration and its social conscience, the same cannot be said for other parts of Eu- rope. Energy prices have in fact skyrocketed over the past months. As of October 2021, gas prices have marked a 400% increase over April 2021. Power prices on the oth- er hand have increased by 200% given that the prices of gas have went up. This is con- cerning because as winter is approaching, people from all over Europe, especially the North, will have to turn to power to keep themselves warm. The situation is worrisome. According to estimates, about 1.7 million people die globally every year as a result of extreme cold conditions. This in itself is very alarm- ing, and it is another reason why energy se- curity in Europe is something that must be secured, and imminently so. During a meeting that I had last week with the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) in Slovenia, I made sure to voice concerns in this regard in discussions we had about the rising energy prices. After all, we must ensure that the effects of high prices are not borne by the most vulnerable consumers. Whilst monitoring the current situa- tion, we must continue working towards ensuring a steady supply of energy, whilst reducing our dependability on fossil fuels and focusing on the importance of energy efficiency. Renewables can help us achieve this cru- cial goal. We need to scale up the combina- tion power of solar and wind energy along with a stronger uptake of batteries. Surely, the transition towards cleaner en- ergy will come at a cost. However, we must make sure that the process of making our economy and energy sector cleaner will be socially just and will not hamper the ter- ritorial cohesion of the Union. The needs and the specificities of the most peripheral regions, including our islands, must be tak- en into account. We need to pay heed to the most vulner- able citizens and we must keep the goal of addressing energy poverty in mind. After all, the principle of solidarity is one that the European Union was founded up- on. When push comes to shove, the Union and any member state government will not be judged by how it treats its richest, but by how it acts in order to leave no one behind. As a Socialist Member of the European Parliament coming from the periphery, I will continue advocating a socially con- scious energy transition. The EU and any member state government will not be judged by how it treats its richest, but by how it acts in order to leave no one behind