Walking the talk
(The Malta Independent on Sunday 19 April 09)
by RALPH CASSAR
The environmental vote tracker published by the European Green Party
(http://stopclimatechange.net/votetracker/), rather than a
€ ’³manipulated exercise€ ’´ to gain € ’³political mileage€ ’´, as stated by Simon
Busuttil (TMIS, 12 April), is a clear snapshot of what a Green Party
in the European Parliament will do when faced by today€ ’²s environmental
and energy challenges.
It further confirms other well-known statistics, which show that the
Greens are the most consistent with regard to environmental
legislation, while the EPP group has the worst record in this regard.
The question is whether you talk the Green talk, or really walk the
Green walk. It is not enough to sport an electric car when launching
your € ’³green€ ’´ campaign or touting € ’³environmental€ ’´ candidates within an
anti-environmental framework€ ’´ to gain that necessary Green political
mileage.
€ ’³Carta canta€ ’´ as the Italians would say. The EPP and PES votes on the
environment are there to be scrutinised. The votes have been cast as
can be seen on http://stopclimatechange.net/votetracker/.
Dr Busuttil€ ’²s counter-claims may be telling his side of the story but
they also reveal where his groups€ ’² green credentials lie: big industry
and corporate lobbies first, citizens later. It is in fact rather
simplistic to argue that green policies are detrimental to jobs, as
even these votes must be seen in the wider context of the Green
Group€ ’²s general proposals. A case in point is the Green New Deal
advocating a massive EU-wide stimulus package along the lines of the
Obama recovery plan to create five million € ’³green-collar€ ’´ jobs in five
years.
Interpreting votes in the EP is surely the easiest way to extract your
kind of truth from the myriad of stages an EU document goes through.
The vote-tracker is a more transparent way of really knowing where
everyone stands on the environmental front.
There are many other examples that could be discussed relating to the
sectors of environment, public health and food safety. Here are a few.
As regards global warming, it is sufficient to say that we are already
late. We can only avoid the worst by acting very fast. Offsetting € ’¶
favoured by old-style politicians, is just a delaying tactic.
President Obama is investing in a new economy, Europe and Malta risk
being left behind. In Malta we have not even started moving towards a
new clean energy based economy, let alone prepare for the effects of
climate change. Suffice to say that other EU countries have already
planned and started working on mitigation measures to counteract the
effects of the rise in sea levels and on agriculture among others. In
Malta it is business as usual for the Gonzi government. On 14 February
2008, Lawrence Gonzi promised that by 2010 20 per cent of all energy
in Malta will be generated from alternative sources € ’¶ it is already
2009 and we are still at about 0% of energy from alternative sources.
Despite the € ’³no€ ’´ vote by PN MEPs, binding energy targets were still
approved by the European Parliament. Dr Busuttil€ ’²s statement that
Malta is still in the process of € ’³adopting options€ ’¥ when it comes to
environmentally friendly technologies€ ’´ confirms the neglect of the
Maltese government in this area € ’¶ we are missing the boat once again,
we will miss out on new high paying jobs in this important sector.
As for car emissions, the usual scaremongering arguments are that
serious, effective limits will spell the death of the car industry.
The car industry will surely die if it does not innovate € ’¶ innovation
come also through what is called € ’³technology forcing€ ’´ which history
shows to be a very effective tool for innovation and economic
sustainability. Contrary to claims made by Simon Busuttil, high
standards will mean more work for all, Maltese companies included.
There is ample evidence of this. I will just quote one tiny section
from a report submitted to the G20 London Summit authored by Sir
Nicholas Stern entitled € ’³Towards a Global Green Recovery.
Recommendations for Immediate G20 Action€ ’´.
€ ’³G20 members should at least triple their total spending on R&D
related to energy efficiency, renewables and CCS.
€ ’³They should establish publicly financed venture capital funds that
target innovative clean-energy technologies and develop a G20
Strategic Energy Technology Plan.€ ’´
Simon Busuttil€ ’²s assertions about aviation are lopsided. The most
important thing is to maintain a level playing field for all actors in
a particular sector, that is, not giving an advantage to one airline
while penalizing others. Carbon trading is one method that will lead
to the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and lead to technological
innovation in aviation. It is obvious that member States, because of
their particular geographical locations different and where
alternative modes of transport exist, should carry a greater part of
responsibility. This is something AD always insists on. Letting them
off the hook easily is not a solution. AD is no fool. Malta will have
to, sooner or later, cut down on flight pollution, as all other
countries in Europe. But we have a particular situation being an
island State. On this issue, an AD MEP will go for the established
international principle of € ’³common but differentiated
responsibilities€ ’´. Responsibility towards future generations and
islands, which will bear the brunt of the effects of climate change,
should remain the guiding principle.
Other interesting votes in the EP are the EPP and PES, including
Maltese MEPs€ ’² votes to sustain and subsidize the nuclear energy
industry. Malta will be sandwiched between four nuclear plants in
Italy and nuclear plants built and subsidized by EU member States in
North Africa, including Libya. The latter will not be operated
according to EU standards and laws for such plants. Maltese MEPs, the
PN government and the PL have still to comment on this issue. We are
for reform that will take us out of the current crisis and for the
creation of jobs that respect the health and well being of all.
Pitting jobs against people€ ’²s health, quality of life and the
environment is old hat.
ralph.cassar [Email address: ralph.cassar #AT# alternattiva.org.mt - replace #AT# with @ ]
Mr Cassar is AD€ ’²s PRO and a councillor on the Attard local council
see: http://stopclimatechange.net/votetracker/
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