Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/792945
maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 1 MARCH 2017 17 Events Increase in LPG conversions leads to more sustainable road transport MOST city buses in Valladolid, Spain, operate with autogas (103 out of a f leet of 150 vehicles). Aiming at contributing to the environment, sustainable mo- bility and reducing air and noise pollution in Portugal, Spain and Italy, Goldcar - the company specialising in holiday car rental - is extending its offering with new LPG-fuelled vehicles. In the case of Italy, it is worth men- tioning the progress of this ini- tiative, especially with the addi- tion of autogas cars in cities like Rome, Venice, Turin, Bologna, Treviso, Palermo and Catania. With over 4.3 million cars, Turkey has the largest LPG- powered vehicle f leet in the world. The Turkish market is growing steadily with an annual increase of 9%. Taxis in Japan are LPG-fuelled. From 2018, all new hackney carriages in Lon- don will have to be zero-emis- sion capable as part of the city's drive to reduce air pollution. The French government has es- tablished a new classification of vehicles according to their level of air pollutant emissions, and autogas operated vehicles have been recognised as being among the least polluting. Across Europe, LPG is consoli- dating its role in energy transi- tion and leading to a more sus- tainable road transport. Italy, with its second-largest autogas market in the European Un- ion after Poland and the sixth- largest in the world, has just launched another incentive scheme this month with contri- butions of up to €1,000. More than 670 Italian communes are eligible for €1.8 million each. The available contribution in- cludes a benefit of €500 for in- stalling LPG systems in petrol- fueled private vehicles, however the new scheme's salient point is the contribution increase to €750 if an LPG system is in- stalled on commercial vehicles of Euro 2-3-4-5 standard. While increasing the percep- tion of autogas as a high per- formance motor fuel through sustained education campaigns is important, it has been found that what substantially drives further the conversion increase in autogas-run cars in these countries are the government or regional monetary benefits and incentives including favourable fuel taxes, traffic regulations where access to urban cores is seriously restricted to non-au- togas operated cars, and incen- tives for new LPG-powered vehi- cles or car conversions to LPG. Targeting incentives towards commercial f leets, and those that are diesel-operated, has been found to diminish air pol- lution. An increasing number of European companies are discov- ering that soon there will be no good reason to opt for diesel en- gines. There is no price differen- tial over petrol, diesel produces as much if not more harmful pollution in the form of par- ticulates, while a diesel car or van for commercial use can also be much more expensive to buy and run than the petrol option, whether the diesel-operated cars are new or used. Wising up, these companies are buying the cheaper petrol vehicle, reducing the cost of re- placing things like starter mo- tors, and suffering none of the other disadvantages. Buying the petrol version and saving more on the initial purchase price by converting and running the commercial vehicle on LPG is beginning to make more finan- cial sense, while avoiding fur- ther penalties that sooner or later will come into force as the continent tries to tackle harm- ful car emissions and noise. Punks and princesses at GlobalCapital PUNKS, princesses, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, red Indians and Minnie Mouse were just some of the characters who graced the offices of GlobalCapital on Friday 24 February. In keeping with the Carnival spirit, the company organised a number of activities for staff, in addition to inviting them to dress up for the festivities. Staff were handed out sugar-coated almonds and a 'Guess the Kid' competi- tion was held for which staff had to look at photos of colleagues in costume, when they were young, and guess who was who. Norbert Vella from the company's Happy Committee, the group of employ- ees who volunteer some of their time to organise such activities explained how "during these monthly activities, we col- lect money from each staff member, and at the end of the year the company dou- bles the money collected which is then distributed among charitable organisa- tions." GlobalCapital regularly organises staff and team building activities as part of its efforts to create a relaxed environment for its staff. Speaking about the event, Sarah Car- bonaro said: "It was great fun. We really enjoyed it and I think more people should participate in such activities." GlobalCapital staff dressed in their Carnival costumes. Photo by Norbert Vella eHealth Week 2017 to take place in Malta in May BETWEEN Wednesday 10 and Friday 12 May 2017, the Maltese Ministry for Health - as part of the Maltese Presidency of the Council of the European Union - the Euro- pean Commission and HIMSS Europe, in collaboration with the World Health Or- ganization Regional Office for Europe will jointly host a High-Level eHealth Confer- ence in Malta. Traditionally hosted during the first se- mester of the Presidency of the Council of the EU, the conference is known as eHealth Week. This year, the event will take place at the Intercontinental Hotel in St. Julian's and it is estimated that at least 1,300 lead- ing health policy makers and high-level influencers within the field of healthcare and IT from EU Member States will attend and share valuable knowledge as well as ex- change solutions. In addition, the event will include an inno- vative exhibition floor, organised by HIMSS Europe, the leading global organisation fo- cused on achieving better health through IT. The exhibition space will feature local and international IT vendors who will be show- casing the most up to date solutions for Eu- ropean hospitals. The overarching theme of eHealth Week 2017 is Data for Health: the key to personal- ised sustainable care. Speakers and delegates will explore the changing ways in which per- sonal health data is created, stored, shared and used. Personalised medicine is a key priority for the European Commission, who is seeking to take advantage of advances in bioinformatics to support a paradigm shift towards tailor-made prevention and treat- ment strategies both for individuals and population groups. Hon Minister Chris Fearne, Minister for Health in Malta said: "Data lies at the heart of health service delivery. During eHealth Week, we will explore the changing ways in which personal health data is created, stored, shared and used. We will discuss how to make best use of information and communication technologies for the benefit of individual citizens and patients, as well as society in general." Some of the topics on the agenda include patient access to data and the importance of sharing it, as well as the data, security and privacy discussion within healthcare. This includes sharing personal health data across country borders, improving the effective- ness, safety and privacy of mobile health and scaling up digital innovation for health and care, smart environments and integrated care. eHealth Week will also address data man- agement analytics for personalised medi- cine and public health policy and reforming healthcare systems: financial barriers and incentives, new roles and shifting balances in healthcare and eHealth in Malta. Christina Roosen, VP of Public Affairs at HIMSS Europe said: "This year we are particularly excited to be introducing new and innovative topics for the first time in our eHealth Week educational programme which have been predicated to heavily in- fluence health and care in the near future. These include the blockchain phenomenon, social media in healthcare and virtual real- ity, to name a few. We will be inviting guests to participate in these discussions in order to maximise the sharing of knowledge at eHealth Week." The official eHealth Week Info Day will be held on the 3rd of March and it intends to give an overview of the event. The Mal- tese Minister for Health, and representatives from the European Commission, HIMSS Eu- rope and WHO/Europe, will be presenting the overarching themes and will be available for a Q&A session with press and eHealth professionals. Any interested parties willing to attend this info day may obtain further information by sending an email to Cynthia.