Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/809226
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 9 APRIL 2017 VIII Energy & Environment Malta declaration aims to save sh stocks, protect jobs e death of coal in the EU: No new plants from 2020 FOLLOWING months of negotia- tions, the European Commission has officially signed the Malta Med- Fish4Ever Declaration, a 10-year pledge aimed at saving the Mediter- ranean fish stocks and protect the region's ecological and economic wealth. The Declaration, which the Com- mission calls "a practical example of EU's successful neighbourhood policy", foresees a detailed work programme for the following 10 years, following a European Com- mission-led process that started back in February 2016. It was signed by representatives of countries on the Mediterranean's northern and southern coastlines. The situation – so far only managed at a technical level – now receives political ownership. European Commissioner Kar- menu Vella, in charge of Environ- ment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs, welcomed the declaration, calling it a historical moment. "In signing the Malta Med- Fish4Ever Declaration, we are affirming our political will to deliver tangible action on fisheries and other activities that have an impact on fisheries resources, on the blue economy, on social inclusion, and on solidarity between the northern and southern shores of the Medi- terranean," he said. "I hope that this declaration will come to be seen as a turning point for a bright future for fishermen, coastal communities and fishing resources alike." Some of the goals and commit- ments outlined in the Declaration and guaranteed by the signatories include: • Ensuring that by the year 2020, all key Mediterranean stocks will be subject to adequate data collection and will go through scientific assessments on a regular basis. • Establishing multi-annual management plans for all key fish- eries in the region. The European Commission has actually already initiated this process with its pro- posal for a multi-annual fisheries plan for small pelagic stocks in the Adriatic back in February of this year. • Eliminating illegal fishing by 2020 by making sure that all States have the legal framework and the necessary human and technical capabilities to meet their control and inspection responsibili- ties. The development of national control and sanctioning systems will be led by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM). • Supporting sustainable small-scale fisheries and aquacul- ture by streamlining funding plans for local projects such as, for exam- ple, fleet upgrades with low-impact techniques and fishing gear, social inclusion and the contribution of fishermen to environmental protec- tion. In order to achieve the effective implementation of the Declaration, the process will heavily involve fishermen, coastal communities, civil societies, as well as industrial, small-scale, artisanal and recrea- tional fisheries. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and GFCM will also participate. Over 300,000 people are directly employed on fishing vessels in the Mediterranean, and many more have indirect jobs that are depend on the sector. 80% of the fleet of the Mediterranean Sea belongs to small-scale fishermen (with vessels under 10m long), who fish a quarter of the total catches. Their jobs, however, are at a great risk, as about 90% of assessed stocks are over-exploited. Food security, livelihoods, and regional stability and security are all under threat. EUROPE'S energy utilities have rung a death knell for coal, with a historic pledge that no new coal-fired plants will be built in the European Union after 2020. The surprise announcement was made at a press conference in Brus- sels on Wednesday, 442 years after the continent's first pit was sunk by Sir George Bruce of Carnock, in Scotland. National energy companies from every EU nation except Poland and Greece signed up to the initia- tive, which will overhaul the bloc's energy-generating future. A press release from Eurelectric, which represents 3,500 utilities with a combined value of over €200 billion, reaffirmed a pledge to deliver on the Paris climate agree- ment, and vowed a moratorium on new investments in coal plants after 2020. "26 of 28 member states have stated that they will not invest in new coal plants after 2020" said Kristian Ruby, Eurelectric's secretary-general. "History will judge this message we are bringing here today. It is a clear message that speaks for itself, and should be seen in close relation to the Paris agreement and our commitment to provide 100% carbon-neutral electricity by 2050." "Europe's energy companies are putting their money where their mouths are," he added. Coal has been central to Eu- rope's development, powering the industrial revolution, trades union history, and even the EU's precur- sor, the European coal and steel community. But it also emits more carbon dioxide than any other fossil fuel, plus deadly toxins such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, and par- ticulate matter, which are respon- sible for more than 20,000 deaths each year. Wendel Trio, the director of Climate Action Network Europe, hailed the new move as "the begin- ning of the end for coal". "It is now clear that there is no future for coal in the EU," he said. "The question is: what is the date for its phase out in the EU, and how hard will the coal industry fight to keep plants open, even if they are no longer economically viable?" The energy utilities' initiative faced initial resistance in Germany which is relying on coal to bridge a move away from nuclear energy to renewables under the "ener- giewende" transition. In the end though, only Poland which depends on coal for around 90% of its electricity and Greece, which still plans new coal plants, bucked what is becoming a global trend. New coal plant constructions fell by almost two thirds across the world in 2016, with the EU and US leading the way in retiring existing coal capacity. The move is also in line with a pathway for meeting the 2C target laid out by climate scientists last month, as a way of limiting future stranded asset risks. Europe will have to phase out all of its coal plants by 2030 or else "vastly overshoot" its Paris climate pledges, climate experts say. Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for the Environment, Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Greenpeace activists project a slogan onto the cooling tower of the brown coal fired Belchatow power plant, in Belchatow, Poland