Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/621909
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 3 JANUARY 2016 10 News 2016 Looking ahead ONE could say that the awareness is already there as more Maltese peo- ple get to know about climate change and its implications. Having said that, aware- ness does not necessarily translate into action and changes in habits. Changing the way we act is definitely not enough to solve complex environmental issues such as climate change. We also need to rethink the way we deal with nature and ask fun- damental questions which we mostly take for granted. In fact most of the awareness being raised is still framed within a narrative based on pre-existing cultural fears and an outdated concept of a "nature" that must be control- led at all costs. In fact many have a sense of false security that science will find a solu- tion to this problem. The polar bear is loved by all but there is a sense of disconnection about this charis- matic species which has come to symbolise the issue. People in Malta do not see them- selves as characters in this story of polar bears and melting ice caps. Most have not even seen a polar bear and hence find comfort in their belief that somewhere far away from the warm Mediter- ranean sea there are people who care about bears and nature, enough to take care of the problem. The same is happening with the UN cli- mate change talks – people believe that politicians are dealing with it and all will be fine at the end of the day, just because politicians signed a deal. The hard truth is that nature and science do not negoti- ate with any particular species, be it man or bird. It might sound harsh but we are cur- rently suffering from a false sense of secu- rity, thinking that nature can be control- led and will prioritise our interests. Many communities in other parts of the world have already realised that this is just an illusion, but this realisation only came about once they were affected by the im- pacts of climate change. Unfortunately the climate crisis disproportionately af- fects the poorer nations and the poorest people, who are not responsible for the climate crisis we are facing. The world's richest countries are most responsible for climate change, having polluted their way to progress. Like it or not, this legacy is already being passed to the future generations. Up until some years ago scientists used to forecast that climatic changes will start affect- ing our societies by the end of the cen- tury. Now it is widely accepted that these changes are already being seen all around us – sea level rise, human displacement and crop failures which are specifically seen as being caused mainly by climate change. As NASA scientist Tom Wagner said earlier on this year, "People need to understand that the planet is not only changing, it's changed". If we want to reduce the future suffering of millions of beings we need to make all the links in the bigger picture and start acting on the root causes, now. THE challenges our country faces in 2016 and beyond are the same challenges which have never been confronted head on in the past 30 years or so. The major challenge which has led to a host of problems is that of landuse and over- development. Overdevelopment and a total lack of planning have led to inadequate space in urban areas for people, open spaces, and even very basic concepts such as tree-lined streets. People have been pushed off the roads in favour of traffic, and dirty air and pollution. A short trip to very busy streets in urban areas and even to newly built streets coveys a very clear message, with 50 centi- metre pavements for people and the rest of the space for traffic. Flooded streets after the shortest of rain storms are another reminder of the short- termism in public policy. It is extremely dif- ficult to reverse years and years of bad plan- ning in built up areas, but targeted initiatives can mitigate some of the problems. Some solutions are investment in infra- structure for alternative means of transport such as bicycles and for those of us who need an extra 'push' pedelecs. It was not dif- ficult to upgrade the bus service from Aus- tin Gatt's skeleton service, but we still have a long way to go. Routes with a frequency of a bus every hour are useless in a traffic-choked island especially during the rush hours. A bus every half an hour should be the bare minimum. Urban green- ing – done properly and adequately financed – can also make streets more welcoming. Another challenge is adapting to climate change and grabbing the opportunities that a low-carbon economy brings in terms of ca- reers and improvement in the quality of life. Our vision is to make Malta a laboratory for developing clean energy solutions, from mi- cro-wind turbines to innovative solar energy solutions, to wave energy, to programmes for energy efficiency in homes and industry. Pages upon pages of official reports have been issued from the Sustainable Develop- ment Commission, to international reports from the UN, to data and reports in individ- ual government departments, ministries and agencies, which have been totally ignored. From a social and economic perspective, a revision of the minimum wage is urgent- ly needed. The Prime Minister's bragging about the economy is hot air and his anti- social Thatcherite trickle-down concept of the economy means that the working poor keep getting poorer. The talk about a 'living wage' before the elections was just a ruse. It is the minimum wage which should be a 'liv- ing wage'. Every worker from those who clean our streets, offices, schools and hospitals, those who toil away in the catering and hospital- ity industry, those clerks and office workers who keep offices running smoothly, to those who care for the elderly and young children are doing dignified and necessary jobs. Their pay should match the rhetoric about dignity. The talk about 'competitiveness' is out of or- der – in fact the less pay a worker gets, the more the spending on essential items – and anyway 'competitiveness' off the backs of the poorest in society is not on. Here again PL and PN agree to keep these people poor and struggling to live a dignified life on in- adequate wages. There is a long list of other challenges, from the implementation of the party fi- nancing law, modernising our constitution, making our political system really and truly pluralistic (which of course is neither in the interest of the Labour government nor of the Nationalist Party), and tackling the scourge of bad governance that has been plaguing our country for ages and is getting worse by the minute. Environment The polar bear is loved by all but people in Malta do not see themselves as characters in this story of polar bears and melting ice caps Another challenge is adapting to climate change and grabbing the opportunities that a low-carbon economy brings Martin Galea De Giovanni, director Friends of the Earth Malta Ralph Cassar, secretary- general Alternattiva Demokratika, the Green Party 'We need to start acting on the root causes of climate change, now' 'We must tackle the scourge of bad governance'