We had an overhelming amount of questions submitted during the Q&A session between Prof. Simone Borg and Prof. Charles Galdies, as well as during the Panel Discussion, both moderated by Perit David Xuereb. We didn’t have time to answer all of them during the live transmission, however we have sourced answers for most of the questions.
Question 1: How can you say that the future is green and exciting if reports show devastating effects on Malta in the near future, even if we do all that we can?
Answer by Prof. Charles Galdies: Like any other country, Malta is at risk of disaster due to global warming. Adaptation measures are urgently needed in order to save ourselves and our current standard of living. At the same time, it is important to always maintain a positive climate action and be optimistic for the future. Taking a defeatist position will certainly make us complacent and inactive in the face of the immediate action needed to curb greenhouse gas emission.
Question 2: IPCC has identified reforestation as an important way to create natural carbon sinks, yet we were told that Malta is faced with increasing drought. How can we promote tree planting when we have less rain?
Answer by Prof. Charles Galdies: The IPCC has recommended a number of steps to tackle the climate crisis, including planting of trees. Malta is a small island nation that faces drought as its population continues to swell. Land is scarce and there are only a few areas where trees can be planted. Nevertheless, the government has been giving its full support to this initiative, as Malta has realized the importance of providing more green spaces that provide us with shade and better air quality. A number of adaptation measures can be taken to combat drought. This starts with creating a better awareness of the risks that are associated with drought, and by taking steps to mitigate them. Measures may include building more reservoirs to collect rainwater that can be used for irrigation, as well as the use of polished water resulting from wastewater treatment.
Question 3. What type of aid (financial or otherwise) will be available to companies that wish to restructure their organisation in order to integrate ESG and sustainability into their targets?
Answer by Perit David Xuereb: Malta Enterprise has a number of schemes to assist businesses restructure sustainability into their business. It is expected that EU recovery and resilience funding will be further focused to assist business make this transition. Regulation and policy will motivate and drive this change across the supply chain. It is expected that Malta's Low Carbon Development Strategy and Malta's commitment to decarbonize our economy to net-zero by 2050 will commit upcoming policies and laws and will address any market failures in achieving this ambition.
Question 4: For products, sustainability labels can be used by companies to add value & improve status, thus helping incentivise achieving sustainability. Do you think the same can be said for services, where consumers/clients may be more distant, or there is less choice, and therefore less incentive &/or market pressure for improving sustainability?
Answer by Perit David Xuereb: With time and an increasingly educated and expectant market of customers, all business will be expected to align to customer core values. Businesses who recognise this will benefit from talent attraction and retention and maintain or improve shareholder value. This drive and trend will become evident in all economic sectors including services. Many reputable services companies have already publicly committed to ambitious ESG and decarbonisation targets. Measurement and disclosure will enable tangible assessment and choices. This transition is expected to accelerate during the next years and will attract higher levels of learning and collaboration.
Question 5: What role do industries (specifically hospitality) has in conserving water and reducing microplastics, for example, through more efficient laundry practices?
Answer by Perit David Xuereb: All industries (including hospitality) have an important role to play to reduce resource consumption and drive circular economic practices. Disclosure of efforts and tangible measurable actions, improvements and ambitions will assist these sectors to remain sustainable in an ever demanding and transitioning economy of highly expectant customers in an economy that will become increasingly sensitive and motivated to achieve these ambitions. These practices will also benefit operators from increased efficiencies and consequential operational efficiencies and savings. The use of water from laundry practices can be made immediately available as a second-class resource through grey water systems for various uses within the same business or region.
Question 6: What role does industry have in reduction of waste (ex. plastic waste from packaging)? Are there any incentives?
Answer by Perit David Xuereb: All industry is naturally incentivised to reduce waste and adopt circular economic practices to enable operational efficiencies. This role is not only noble, correct and responsible, but will also explicitly inform increasingly discerning customers and regulated markets that products and services derived from that industry reflect the ambitions of that market and will reassure that product will not adversely affect the personal or business ambitions of the customers themselves.
Question 7: Why is the bottle (e.g., plastic bottles, glass bottles, aluminum cans) deposit return scheme still not introduced in Malta? What actions need to be taken to speed up the process?
Answer by Davinia Shead: The bottle refund scheme project doesn’t fall under WasteServ remit, for further information about the project you can get in touch with BCRS Malta https://www.facebook.com/BCRSMalta
Question 8: Beyond reducing carbon footprints, the effects of climate-related risks will need to be partly reduced by climate adaptation and mitigation measures. This is needed now for the climate of tomorrow. What should the priorities in climate change adaptation be specific to the anticipated impact of climate change on Malta? Is there sufficient engagement between researchers, government, authorities, and relevant sectors such as construction and infrastructure to acknowledge and address these priorities?
Answer by Prof. Simone Borg: Mitigation is about reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). So, when we talk about reducing carbon footprint, the Malta GHG targets, shifting to renewables, this is all referring to mitigation. As you rightly point out the other side of the coin is adaptation to climate change which means becoming climate resilient. This entails Malta identifying the risks that climate change even if we are successful in achieving climate neutrality by 2050 and thus restricting the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century we would still need to prepare for the risks the effects of climate change will cause upon Malta and the rest of the world. The Low Carbon Development Strategy is at the moment being supplemented by the Adaptation aspect. Malta's first adaptation strategy was issued in 2012.
Predicted major impacts we need to adapt to include: water scarcity and desertification, extreme weather events, impact upon health economic sectors including tourism and agriculture, coastal erosion and sea level rise, inflation as a result of food security issues and impact on supply chains.
One may also say that mitigation measures that is implementing the green deal will bring about many changes for the better but which will need us as citizens, businesses, financial institutions to be prepared for the change, this point was made various time during the SF. Re cooperation yes this exists, the University has its Climate Change Platform, there is also the Climate Action Board set up by law which establishes a body that precisely brings about the various stakeholders you mentioned. The role of the line Ministry responsible for climate and my role as ambassador is precisely to facilitate this dialogue not only at the national but also at the regional (EU and Mediterranean) and International level. Malta supports students from developing countries to study climate issues in Malta, finances research and startups etc.. We obviously can always do more...
Question 9: Why is deforestation planned for 2030 and not for immediate action?
Answer by Prof. Simone Borg: There was an agreement to end deforestation by 2030 during COP 26. Obviously, one has to start form now to ensure there is no deforestation by 2030.
Question 10: Will Malta explore renewable energy from the sea? Wave energy, submarine currents and floating solar panels are particular opportunities for a small island.
Answer by Prof. Simone Borg: Included in the manifesto of both major political Parties including that by the Government of the day, so yes one expects this development, but it is not as easy as you seem to imply. Security of supply storage of renewable energy is technology in the making...even at our University. The use of the sea is also challenging because of Malta's deep continental shelf, the impact on the marine environment and other uses of the sea. This does not mean renewable energy from the sea is not a good option, it definitely looks like the best option and best possibility. But it is not without challenges and cannot happen overnight.
Question 11: Prof. Simone Borg mentioned measuring progress. From my experience so far, the data that is measured is the bare minimum we need to measure as per our obligations (excluding data collected by academia). How can we kickstart serious dialogue between different ministries in order to start registering progress?
Answer by Prof. Simone Borg: Malta reports its progress at the national level according to very strict rules by the UN as an EU member State. The EU has its own targets then which Malta also reports upon regularly. I think you are referring to measuring progress of emissions by private sector. This is something that is being discussed right now with the introduction of the non-financial accounting directive and the Taxonomy Regulation. The so called ESGs Environmental and Social Governance of companies. This is works in progress and will be legally required. So far some companies have done it voluntarily like they do ISO for example. You mention data collected by the academia. The University of Malta has been supporting Government to draft the National Communication every few years which is a report that showcases Malta's performance and has to be sent to the UN. This is a legal obligation Malta has under the UNFCCC treaties.
Question 12: What is being done on a regional/ Mediterranean level to tackle pollution coming from marine traffic - which is shockingly overwhelming in this region? What alternatives are there?
Answer by Prof. Simone Borg: The IMO has a number of International obligations under the MARPOL convention where ships are required to reduce GHGs and also other pollutants that do not themselves cause climate change. Pollution and climate change are not one and the same thing. The Mediterranean is being designated as a SECA region to reduce pollution and Malta has established ship to shore measures to reduce emissions in Ports. The IMO is also actively working on ships becoming more and more energy efficient. The EU has a Regulation which monitors emissions from ships and aims to include ship emissions in the emissions trading scheme.
Question 13: How may a semi-isolated island nation like Malta prepare for a climate crisis (even if below 2C) that could see food shortages and aggravated supply chain issues impacting global trade, especially when considering that we do not produce enough to sustain ourselves, and are reliant on importation?
Answer by Prof. Simone Borg: [Please refer to the answer of Question 8]
Question 14: As per the 1951 UNHCR people who are mobilised due to climatic events are not considered refugees and therefore do not gain the same rights as other people seeking asylum. Do you think that Malta might in the future have to face this situation, in particular, due to desertification?
Answer by Prof. Simone Borg: Malta is already experiencing people being displaced as a result of drought and desertification...although it is difficult to pinpoint directly at the cause. The fact that people may be termed as displaced and not refugees may not necessarily be completely negative. I am speaking from the legal perspective of people whose homeland may be inundated by sea level rise, if they are called refugees they may lose all claims they have over their country as if it ceased to exist. Being displaced will make them retain their statehood, their nationality, which they should because this means that the State they come from may geographically cease to exist but the national will retain rights on fisheries, shipping etc... Regarding people who are displaced as a result of drought desertification, this is more indirect and difficult to prove again in that case maybe it would be more beneficial to have the right of asylum but the most important thing is to ensure such people receive the necessary financial support to adapt to climate change. This is one of the key issues of the climate negotiations even for the Island States. This would require heavy financing but the Paris Agreement provides that 100 billion dollars a year need to be mobilized by the developing countries to finance climate adaptation. It is not always unfortunately possible to prevent loss and damage resulting from climate change but at least climate justice necessitates these victims receive support.
Question 15: What is the plan about transport in the short term? The carbon footprint in tremendous, apart from the acoustic pollution.
Answer by Prof. Simone Borg: Road Transport is the focus of Malta's LCDS and we have to reduce emissions by 19% by 2030 but this would depend ALSO upon our behavioural choices not just government measures...
Question 16: After the release of the new IPCC report the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said, " Investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure is more and economic madness" So why are we building a Malta-Sicily gas pipeline especially if it will be done in 2028?
Answer by Prof. Simone Borg: Gas is an acceptable interim measure even under the green deal. Energy security is essential and by 2028 it is not envisaged that alternative sources of energy will be readily guaranteeing security of supply. It should be a hydrogen ready pipeline for when GREEN hydrogen becomes commercially available.
Question 17: Isn’t now the right time to promote reduced meat consumption and encourage consumption of local produce? This would have positive climate impacts
Answer by Prof. Simone Borg: Both your suggestions are very valid and have form part of current awareness campaigns. It is up to the consumer though to change his/her ways...
Question 18: Integrating ESG as APS is mentioning it sounds like a huge increase of employment costs, since specialists must be acquired. Hiring a consultant would decrease the costs drastically and makes it an efficient process. These options are available locally.
Answer by Giovanni Bartolotta: The most likely strategy, in terms of human resources requirements to implement an ESG framework, will be a combination of new resources and consultancies acquired externally – so as to balance the benefits of implementing ESG with the practicalities of not inflating excessively headcounts. Also, ESG skills (from a credit risk perspective, regulatory implementation etc) will be acquired by existing bank personnel through training, so that some internal resources can be redeployed (in part or more extensively) to deal with the implementation of the ESG strategy. In the long-term, it can be safely assumed that the benefits will significantly outweigh the additional costs.
