Malta's Leo Brincat – Climate change adaptation a central issue in development

Malta Today: The Minister for Sustainable Development and Climate Change, Leo Brincat, said that efforts must be made to integrate climate change adaptation into the development process. Brincat was speaking at a conference on climate change, '2015 and Beyond: What is the future of development and development education in Malta?' which was held this morning at Dar Ewropa in Valletta.

"We do not need to see a post-2015 scenario unfold before reaching the stark and clear conclusions that the link between climate change and development exists and has existed for many years," he said. "In order to counter the threats of climate change to development, we need to foster more proactive policies that address the need for climate change vulnerability, resilience, knowledge and learning," he said.

Brincat stressed that the vulnerable groups in society, such as the ones with low-incomes, were the people most affected by climate change. "We do not need to await fresh earthquakes or tsunamis to go in search of fresh evidence. It is a given that climate change is already affecting the world's poorest and most vulnerable people, who often lack the robust systems and capacity needed to cope with such concerns," he said.

Brincat believed that these people should be "central to the rapidly expanding climate change research and policy agenda"....

Saint Paul's Bay in Malta, shot by Azhitsky, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license

Malta could be facing critically high temperatures by 2038

Malta Independent: Malta could be facing historically extreme temperatures by 2038, according to a study on climate change by the University of Hawaii published in Nature, an international weekly science journal.

“The seesaw variability of global temperatures often engenders debate about how seriously we should take climate change. But within 35 years, even the lowest monthly dips in temperatures will be hotter than we’ve experienced in the past 150 years, according to a new and massive analysis of all climate models. The tropics will be the first to exceed the limits of historical extremes and experience an unabated head wave that threatens biodiversity and heavily populated countries with the fewest resources to adapt,” the University said in a press release.

The climate changed index accounts for two scenarios. The first is a business-as-usual scenario with no reduction in C02 levels. This scenario pegs Valletta as reaching historically extreme temperatures by 2038, which is 9 years sooner than the global average of 2047. Under an alternate scenario with greenhouse gas emissions stabilisation, Valletta will reach these historical extremes by 2054, 15 years sooner than the global average of 2069.

The study predicts that the Earth’s biological systems will be faced with a fight or flight scenario, and the tropics, which hold the world’s greatest diversity of marine and terrestrial species, will experience unprecedented climates some 10 years earlier than anywhere else on Earth...

Salt pans in Gozo, Malta, shot by Thyes, public domain

Malta adapting to ease the impact of flooding and drought

Malta Independent: Malta’s water policy includes the aim to adapt to climate change and ease the impact of flooding and drought, Resources Minister George Pullicino told a news conference to mark World Environment Day.

Other aims are to meet the demand for drinking water, for agriculture and for industry; sustainable management of the resource; protection against pollution; and a just allocation of the resource through regulation.

He said the water quality over the last years has improved. Underground water extraction has declined while reverse-osmosis water production has increased, to improve the water quality.

Infrastructural improvements, such as pipe replacements, meters installation, intelligent system in pressure control, and leakage detection has led to drastically less water being lost through the system, from 1,000m3 per hour in 2004, to 460m3 per hour in 2010.

There is more rainwater collection, Mr Pullicino said. A unit has been set up to see to the maintenance and cleaning of valleys and water reservoirs. Clean-ups during the summer months yield some 20,000 tonnes of waste. Over 200,000 cubic metres of water are stored from valleys and reservoirs. A flood-easing project which will cost €56 million will see the tripling of the amount of rainwater storage or water being added to groundwater, with the project having the potential of collecting some 700,000 cubic metres of rainwater...

A vineyard in the foreground, Mdina, Malta behind, shot by Picman, public domain

Rainwater culverts did not eliminate a flooding problem in Malta

Miriam Dalli in Malta Today: Alternattiva Demokratika says the 1997 Balzan Valley Flood Relief Project and rainwater culverts did not eliminate flooding problem. The Green Party said an urgent flood mitigation strategy was needed in Balzan and said government was not addressing the problem.

“The flooding problem has been with us for ages, and the government has not addressed the problem. The local council had planned to build a reservoir to collect rain water, but it never materialised over a land dispute with the Good Shepard sisters,” AD’s candidate for Balzan’s local council, Andre Vella, said.

Vella said the flood relief project, which dates back to 1997, and the rainwater culverts did not eliminate the flooding problem. “The Storm Water Relief system promised to build an underground tunnel between Mosta and Msida but it is still in a state of uncertainty,” he added.

“Despite these efforts, last year the foul smelling flooding problem was even greater as we remember cars floating in Balzan Valley. This calls for an urgent flooding mitigation strategy.” AD’s spokesman for sustainable development Carmel Cacopardo said flooding would get worse in the years to come, as a result of climate change problems. “Unfortunately, when the Climate Change Adaptation Strategy was drawn up, it did not focus on local impacts,” Cacopardo said....

A bus during a Maltese downpour, shot by Felix O, Wikimedia Commons via Flickr, under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license

Greece, Turkey spearhead efforts to fight climate change in the Mediterranean

Kostis Geropoulos in New Europe: Greece and Turkey may disagree on many issues but are brought together in the fight against global warming. Athens and Ankara agreed on 22 October to join forces to combat climate change in the Mediterranean.

In an idyllic setting at a luxury south coast resort near Vouliagmeni, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, together with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, as well as environmental representatives from neighboring Mediterranean countries signed a political declaration on 22 October. The agreement launches the Mediterranean Climate Change Initiative (MCC) in collaboration with leaders from across the Mediterranean and with the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB), which aims to accelerate environmental cooperation in the region, protect the fragile ecosystem and promote and implement low-carbon development projects in the region.

…The deputy foreign minister reminded that the Mediterranean Green Development Investors Forum was due to take place here on 23 October on the subject of “Financing profitable green initiatives and investments across the Mediterranean.” The forum was expected to allow key policy-makers, technology providers, business and finance leaders and international investors to discuss the initiatives and investments for a sustainable green economy across the Mediterranean. Kouvelis said business and investment can give a further impetus to the whole effort in the fight against climate change and Green Development.

…Opening the Mediterranean Climate Change Initiative conference, Papandreou said that from within the "bad scenarios" for climate change appearing to be coming true in the southeastern Mediterranean with increasingly frequent extreme weather phenomena and threats to the region's unique agricultural production, "which is a capital for its culture," an opportunity arises that of taking advantage of the cooperation among the regional countries "to develop a new growth model, making use of the region's resources, to create new green industries."

Near Vouliagmeni, shot by Charski A.V.

A lost road in Malta

Annaliza Borg in the Malta Independent Online: The Ghadira road, part of which caved in last Monday, was built directly on a sand dune without much attention to the underlying geology, The Malta Independent on Sunday has learnt. It may truly be lost if climate change is not taken seriously and geological studies are not carried out.

Lack of attention to surface and subsurface geology is widespread in Malta and explains why our roads are of such poor quality, said geologist Peter Gatt, when contacted. The part of Marfa Road opposite the beach was built directly on a sand dune.

“A relatively thin layer of asphalt over unbound aggregate cannot withstand traffic load especially when the underlying sand has shifted,” Mr Gatt pointed out. The high water pressure from a leaking water pipe may have caused some liquefaction and erosion of the sand. The sand flowed away through cracks or along the perimeter of the road leaving a void under the asphalt.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that the road surface caved in when a bus was driving over it. No one was hurt in the incident, the circumstances of which were identical to those of another unpleasant situation in May 2005, when a coachload of tourists was involved.

This week’s incident has nonetheless spurred comments about the proposed controversial road project that the government shelved at the end of October last year. The government had announced the road project months before, generating controversy mainly because many argued that the nature reserve and Foresta 2000 would be compromised if a new road was built through it.

Mellieha mayor Robert Cutajar is calling for the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to conclude its Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) documentation on the Ghadira Road as the beach was “becoming smaller by the hour”….

The Ghadira nature preserve in Malta. Just guessing, but that might be the road in question to the left of the image. Shot by Inkwina, Wikimedia Commons, under the Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

An indispensable national water policy for Malta

Caroline Galea in the Malta Independent: … Malta’s water consumption and footprint make … grim reading. For a nation that for centuries has prided itself on conserving every drop of water, today’s situation has changed a great deal. One can easily confirm this when considering the omnipresent well in every old house and the hundreds of cisterns and wells that dot our countryside.

Our annual consumption of water has increased steadily over the years. Alas, the majority of aquifers are being over-extracted with extraction figures perilously above the mean annual recharge. … A few weeks ago, the government, through the Ministry for Resources and Rural Affairs, launched a period of consultation that aims to address the growing problem that Malta faces with water consumption and conservation. This consultation should lead to a draft proposal on a comprehensive national water policy. … Indeed, there is precious little time to lose.

A report carried out by Carmen Delia for FAO in 2004 entitled “Water consumption, Sustainability and its Economic implications for Malta” continues to clarify the picture. Obviously, we are completely dependant on our desalination plants to cover the huge gap between consumption and our actual reserve of water. More so, our water is heavily subsidized. The price of a unit of water covers a fraction of the real cost both economically and environmentally.

...Furthermore, it was estimated that producing 1 cubic metre of water by reverse osmosis consumes 7.05 kWH of electricity. This is a significant amount, contributing to economic strains on the utility and more emissions. The problem is apparently complex. Pricing of water has always been a sensitive political and social issue hence solutions are hard to come by. More efficiency and a judicious use of this priceless resource are apparently the immediate actions available….

A valley near Xlendi, Gozo, Malta, shot by Ramessos, Wikimedia Commons

Malta eyes water shortages and the coast

Caroline Muscat in the Times of Malta: What do tiny Malta and the entire African continent have in common? Their contribution to climate change is negligible but they will be among the hardest hit. Malta lies in the middle of the two most vulnerable regions to threats imposed by climate change, according to a European Commission White Paper published earlier this year. Being a small island state, Malta's threats are exacerbated, a fact acknowledged by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi during a recent parliamentary debate on the subject:

"The impact on small island states - particularly water shortages and sea level rise - is no joke. Because of sea level rise, we could lose a high percentage of our coast." However, the European Environment Agency (EEA) told The Sunday Times that Malta had still not forwarded any plans regarding climate change impact, vulnerability and adaptation, in contrast with other Mediterranean countries that "have prepared quite extensive climate change assessments".

In a report entitled "Impacts of Europe's Changing Climate", the EEA outlines the Mediterranean's vulnerability. The threats include an increased risk of floods and droughts, losses of biodiversity, threats to health, and damage to economic sectors such as energy, transport, forestry, agriculture and tourism.

…As an island nation that draws most of its water supply from the sea through desalination plants at considerable cost, fresh water is a precious resource. The Malta Resources Authority (MRA), the country's regulator, acknowledges that Malta is one of those Mediterranean countries under the 'constant pressure' of water scarcity….

The civil ensign of Malta

Malta needs an effective water policy – UN climate change ambassador

The Malta Independent: Malta needs an effective water policy that would specify ways of harvesting rain water and recycling waste water, for instance, said Michael Zammit Cutajar, Malta's UN ambassador on climate change. Speaking at a national seminar on health effects of climate change at the Radisson SAS Baypoint Resort yesterday, Mr Zammit Cutajar said climate change will accentuate the country’s vulnerability to water stress.

It’s getting hotter and it’s raining less, while the rising sea level will contaminate the aquifer, he said. This highlights the importance of an effective water policy, which would include ways of making the desalination system more efficient, though it must be said that the country has made regular progress in this regard, said Mr Zammit Cutajar.

He stressed the need for much better water catchment, storage, distribution, and recycling. Mr Zammit Cutajar said climate change demands a coherent approach: the government as a whole has to work towards adaptation and resilience.

However, he said, a great chunk of action can be carried out on an individual basis, by making environment friendly choices on a daily basis. “Malta is too small to affect the big picture, but it has to adapt to change. As for reductions in emissions, we cannot do much ourselves, but we must push for an ambitious global strategy, otherwise the problem will get much worse for us.”…

The Blue Lagoon on Comino Island, Malta, shot by Picman

Malta failing in climate change preparation

Times of Malta: Malta has failed to prepare a plan on its climate change impact, vulnerability and adaptation - unlike other Mediterranean countries that "have prepared quite extensive climate change assessments", according to the European Environmental Agency. In a report entitled 'Impacts of Europe's changing climate', the EEA states that the Mediterranean is one of the regions most vulnerable to climate change.

The report is based on 40 key indicators and stresses the consequences of observed and projected changes, including an increased risk of floods and droughts, losses of biodiversity, threats to human health and damage to economic sectors such as energy, transport, forestry, agriculture, and tourism.

…Malta's vulnerability to climate change was recognised by the government in 2004. Its assessment in the 'First National Communication of Malta to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change' (UNFCCC) states: "The most important impacts include the deterioration of potable water supplies and quality, more frequent extreme weather events, increase in soil erosion and an accentuated desertification process, threats to public health, changes in sea water mass characteristics and effects on fish stocks, sea level rise, coastal erosion and inundation, and reduced biodiversity...

"The degree of these consequences will in part depend on timeliness of implementation of adaptation measures."….

…Labour environment spokesman Leo Brincat said he had never received any feedback to his calls for sectoral impact studies. "I very much doubt to what extent issues such as vulnerability and adaptation have been looked into seriously or professionally. The same applies to mitigation," Mr Brincat said.

Malta's Comino Tower, shot by Picman, who has generously released it into the public domain via Wikimedia Commons