Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1456293
15 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 2 MARCH 2022 NEWS OPINION Aaron Farrugia is minister for the environment, climate change and planning Aaron Farrugia PARTIT Laburista delivers what it promises. In 2013, the focus was on revitalizing the Maltese economy. We delivered, and it is still growing from strength to strength with the highest pro- jected growth at EU level and lowest unemployment levels. In 2017, we addressed the need for major infrastructural upgrades and we delivered again - and whilst we are rounding up that massive €700 million invest- ment, we have now proudly an- nounced the next €700 million priority to cap it all sustainably. Our workplan is green. We are listening to the future gen- eration, and the aim to give a better environment than the one we inherited is at the top of our priorities. And this is not the typical election run-up greenwashing or the politics of make-be- lieve the Nationalist Party has thrived on time and time again. This is hard cash being dedi- cated to transforming the ur- ban environment and the infra- structure that sustains Malta's environmental well-being. We are ready to hit the ground running. Even more than this, we will continue pushing for- ward with our work, this time with unparalleled resources. The Robert Abela administration will go down in the history book as the one that committed the largest-ever investments in the environmental field. Under my watch, €500 million have been devoted to delivering an infra- structural waste management setup that would be second to none, and now a further €700 million to deliver a green envi- ronment in our urban hubs, most often, hubs that are clogged due to the ill planning of the past. These investments are not isolated. Various ministries and entities within government have also done remarkably well to implement changes that de- liver long-term environmental gains. Look at the shift from heavy fuel oil to natural gas and the more recent work on the shore power projects that will save the harbour area of massive amounts of emissions through a facility that is a first for most harbours. Add to this the thousands of trees that have been planted, both with- in nature itself and along roads but also as part of major landfill rehabilitation programmes that I have personally led to com- pletion. When we look at the other side, we unfortunately still miss a mature approach and the make-believe approach is still dominant. We heard of track- less trams; little do they know that unless our road network is widened again there is simply no physical space to accommo- date it. Another pie in the sky. Their trams on wheels are a larger version of the bendy bus that has already left its mark on our transportation system, and luckily it is recent enough for people to make their own conclusions. On the same top- ic, they are now rubbishing our metro plans as expensive and they seem to be proposing an underground network which according to them is cheaper and will generate less excava- tion waste. It would be curious to see their calculations on how the densest mode of transpor- tation (metro) will need more operational space than the least effective one (private cars). We have only one choice. We need to reaffirm our determi- nation to continue working under the Robert Abela admin- istration, especially now, when the environment is our main priority. The next five weeks will be the hallmark of the La- bour Government, the legis- lature that will deliver a green future to be proud of. At an environmental crossroad Electric cars: The last budget introduced an €11,000 cash grant for the purchase of electric cars to reduce the price differential with conventional vehicles Under my watch, €500 million have been devoted to delivering an infrastructural waste management setup that would be second to none, and now a further €700 million to deliver a green environment in our urban hubs, most often, hubs that are clogged due to the ill planning of the past