Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1529124
4 gozotoday | FRIDAY • 8 NOVEMBER 2024 NEWS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The mission's objective is to have 100 climate-neutral and smart cities, aligning with the ambitious goals of the Euro- pean Green Deal and the EU's commitment to global climate action. As a first step in the process, these 100 pioneering cities, in- cluding Gozo, will work towards having a clear plan to achieve climate neutrality by a pre-de- termined date. Borg said the GRDA is com- mitted in stewarding the Cli- mate Neutral and Smart Cities Mission so much so that this commitment features promi- nently in the Regional Develop- ment Strategy for Gozo. However, several issues need to be address, including the ad- ministrative framework within which the Authority must op- erate and the lack that most ac- tions required fall within the re- mit of other national competent authorities. The GRDA has been working to overcome such issues over the past years. A preliminary market consultation (PMC) was issued by the GRDA on 25 of January 2024 to seek further information from potential economic op- erators on preparing a detailed study that will identify possible legislative amendments as well as prepare a detailed action and investment plan for the island of Gozo to achieve climate neutral- ity. An open tender was then pub- lished. The process of determining a viable target date by which the island of Gozo achieves climate neutrality should involve an ex- tensive consultation process both with state and non-state actors and must outline a busi- ness-as-usual scenario, and at least two different scenarios. The resulting plan should iden- tify measures and actions and the investment required for each action and scenario. "We are fully aware of the dif- ficulties for Gozo to achieve climate neutrality. Apart from the target in itself, there is the issue what most of the regulato- ry changes fall under the remit of national entities, so they need to be fully on board," Borg told GozoToday. "Still, as GRDA, it is something we are working hard on. Once this tender is assigned, the ex- perts will be helping us to pre- pare and present to Government a detailed plan of action with dif- ferent paths to achieve climate neutrality for Gozo. Then it will be up to the central government to decide, allocate the necessary funds and execute." Scope of plan The Climate Neutral Plan cho- sen will need to address Green House Gas (GHG) emissions from all sectors and sources in- cluding: • Transport sector: Emis- sions from combustion of fossil fuels for transporta- tion on the island, as well as transportation to and from the island; • Buildings and facilities: Emissions from combus- tion of fossil fuels in all buildings and facilities (known as 'stationary en- ergy'). This includes resi- dential, commercial, and industrial buildings as well as municipal buildings and public lighting within the island boundary; • Consumption of electrici- ty: Emissions arising from the consumption of elec- tricity and from heating and cooling within the island's boundary, from power plants located with- in or outside the island; • Waste generation: Emis- sions arising from waste generated within the island of Gozo, treated/managed/ disposed within or outside the island boundary; • Changes in land use: Emis- sions from changes in land use including agriculture, forestry and other land used (collectively referred to as 'AFOLU') within the island boundary; • Chemical processes in in- dustry: Emissions from chemical processes in industry (collectively re- ferred to as Industrial Pro- cess and Product Use or 'IPPU') within the island boundary. Understanding Gozo's energy demand and supply structure To achieve climate neutrality, a detailed plan for very careful implementation of energy sector reforms is required. The devel- opment of such a plan requires a clear understanding of Gozo's energy demand and supply structure and the current situa- tion of the energy sector. In this regard, the GRDA, in collaboration with the Clean En- ergy for EU islands conducted a preliminary study to understand the island's current energy sys- tem, and have an estimate of energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in Gozo. Based on findings of this ener- gy baseline analysis, CO 2 emis- sions in Gozo emanate from electricity consumption on the island, transport on the island, transport to and from the island, and from fuels used for heating and cooling. The land transport sector ac- counted for around 51% of the total CO 2 emissions, in 2019. Transport on the island relies heavily on private vehicles, most of which are ICE vehicles. Transportation to and from the island, which is based on sea transportation between Mġarr (Gozo) and Ċirkewwa (Malta), also has a significant contribu- tion to the total CO 2 emissions (around 14% in 2019). This increased recently due to the introduction of the fast ferry service that connects Mġarr to Valletta. Meanwhile, the electri- cal energy consumed on the is- land accounted for around 30% of the CO 2 emissions generated on the island in 2019, with the remaining emissions resulting from fuels used for heating and cooling. With regards to electrical ener- gy consumption, the residential sector is the biggest consumer, which on average accounted for around 60% of the total electric- ity consumed in Gozo over the 2016 to 2020 period. This is followed by the com- mercial and public services sectors and the manufacturing sector. The remaining sectors, including the agricultural sector, have residual effects on the total electricity consumption. Gozo is dependent on main- land Malta for its electricity sup- ply. The island receives electrical power through three underwater cables that connect Gozo's elec- tric grid with that of mainland Malta. The electrical energy received from mainland Malta is either generated at the natural gas-fired power station in Deli- mara (Malta) or derived from the Malta-Italy In- terconnector, which con- nects the Italian power sta- tion located in Ragusa (Sicily) to Malta's electrical grid. The only source of electrical energy generation in Gozo is solar power, which is harnessed through the significant number of PV panels installed on res- idential and public buildings. The installation of solar panels is more widespread in Gozo com- pared to Malta, as incentives for installing solar energy in Gozo were more favourable than those in mainland Malta. According to the latest figures, as at end of 2022 the energy gen- erated from PV panels in Gozo amounted to 40.4 GWh or 14.0% of energy generated by PVs on a national level. Co-operation across the board needed to implement climate neutral plan for Gozo GRDA CEO Mario Borg (inset) says the authority is fully aware of the difficulties for Gozo to achieve climate neutrality "We are fully aware of the difficulties for Gozo to achieve climate neutrality. Apart from the target in itself, there is the issue what most of the regulatory changes fall under the remit of national entities, so they need to be fully on board."