SPEECH BY THE HON. FRANCIS ZAMMIT DIMECH, MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, AT FOI ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2001 "THE ENVIRONMENT ? FACING REALITY"

Environmental awareness has grown steadily during the past 30 years. This is because the environment is the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat, the sea around our islands, our countryside. Environmental expectations have increased dramatically. People are aware that decisions affecting our environment are not only taken on a national level but also on a European and international level.

Environmental concerns are being gradually mainstreamed into all policies resulting in an examination of the effects which any policy initiative might have on the environment. The present administration, conscious of the problems facing our environment, has taken measures to rectify environmental concerns. In the field of transport, awareness of the problems of emissions is increasing. Government took measures to import diesel with a lower sulphur content and petrol with a lower lead content. It is government's intention to stop the importation of leaded petrol in the future.

In the energy sector government took measures to lessen emissions into the air by providing electrostatic precipitators to boilers number seven and eight which make up for 80 per cent of all emissions from the Power Station at Marsa. Through these electrostatic precipitators emissions from these boilers were reduced by 90 per cent.

Government took two concrete steps in this year's budget in an effort to tap alternate clean means of energy. VAT on alternative means of energy, such as solar heaters and solar panels was reduced from 15 to 5 per cent as from the 1^st of January of this year. As of the same date, the registration tax on battery driven vehicles was reduced from between 50 and 75 per cent to 16.5 per cent. The registration tax on motorcycles driven by batteries was reduced to 6.5 per cent from between 28 and 42 per cent.

The EU Commissioner for the Environment, Mrs Margot Wallstrom, who will be coming to Malta between the 26^th and 28th of April has often remarked that the environment chapter will be one of the most difficult to close in the accession negotiations, both because taking on board the EU environmental legislation is a tremendous challenge for any national Parliament and administration, and because of the financial, administrative and technical aspects of putting it into practice.

This statement was underlined by an explanatory statement to the motion for a resolution by the European Parliament approved last September. In this statement the European Parliament considered that whereas Malta needs to intensify its efforts to transpose, apply and enforce the Community acquis in the environmental field, the cost involved in the implementation of this part of the acquis is estimated at five per cent of the national GDP. The same resolution urges the Government to draw up a strategy for arriving at a satisfactory solution to the problems which exist with regard to effluent, air pollution, waste management and nature conservation.

The explanatory statement goes on to say that "as well as the costs of implementing the acquis, the positive aspects of doing so – for example the creation of new jobs – ought to be borne in mind." In addition, the explanatory statement urges that account be taken of Malta's special circumstances: its limited area and the importance of tourism.

Since 1970 the European Union adopted over 200 directives with the aim of improving air and water quality, controlling waste disposal, monitoring industrial risks and protecting nature. In matters of environment, Europe today leads the world. These directives encouraged the development and wider use of environmentally sound technologies, which were a catalyst for the creation of thousands of new jobs.

The National Plan for the Adoption of the Acquis (NPAA) provides a framework for the introduction of EU rules and an estimate of the cost which such new rules or practices will involve.

Facing reality involves carrying out national policy in the interest of safeguarding the environment and promotinG sustainable development keeping Malta's specific special circumstances in mind. It is certainly no news that the adoption of the high environmental standards envisaged by the acquis communautaire can only be achieved at great cost although one views this cost as an investment, the fruits of which will be reaped by both present and future generations.

The adoption of the acquis communautaire implies an enormous commitment: it implies, among other things, a need for new skills and the training of scarce human resources, it implies educating both the general public and the various interest groups, particularly commercial concerns, it implies more monitoring – both with regard to the type of monitoring as well as its density.

The Government had taken a number of steps towards achieving the targets which it has set itself in the adoption of the environmental acquis. Among these was the enactment of the Malta Resources Authority Act which provides for the setting up of a Regulator for energy, water and mineral resources. The provisions of this Act came into force on Friday, February 2^nd. The new Environment Protection Act will be debated in Parliament in the near future while subsidiary legislation is in an advanced stage of preparation. A National Plan for Waste Management will be concluded in the coming weeks. A call for proposals for an Integrated Project for the Management of Solid Waste was published last December and the call will close next March.

Following the urging of both environmental bodies and the industrial sector, Malta has also ratified a number of international instruments, including the Basle Covention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste. This Convention is proving a useful tool in improving the waste situation.

More importantly, the accession process has given an impetus to the mainstreaming of environmental concerns and has favoured the process of dialogue by the various interest groups both within and outside Government to the advantage of the environment.

The accession process has also driven the environment to the top of the agenda of accession countries. The environmental chapter has come to be considered as one of the most important parts of the acquis, all the more so because of the implications which its adoption has on the whole country and its economy.

Malta's small size and population also mean that it will be facing a tough challenge to adopt to certain parts of the acquis communautaire due to the difficulty, in certain cases, of achieving economies of scale. One example is that of the recycling of certain fractions of waste. The amount of waste produced makes the recycling of certain types of waste unfeasible. This can however, give rise to new opportunities, including working jointly with other countries.

Sustainability remains the key word. The integration of environmental concerns in all sectors is a manner whereby sustainable growth may be ensured. Applying more stringent rules for the protection of the environment might sometimes imply an initial cost but benefits will be reaped by all sectors, in particular the leisure sector. The environment should never be viewed as a cost. It is an investment and an important opportunity for all parties involved.

Progress in the environment can only be made if the key players: government, private sector, environmental organisations and the public, recognize the importance of the work to be done. And of their share of responsibility in every project.