Last Updated on Tuesday, 8 October, 2024 at 9:58 am by Andre Camilleri
The Climate Action Authority (CAA) was officially launched on Monday.
The authority is the first such authority to be set up in Europe and it is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the measures and regulations related to climate change in the country.
During the launch event, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that “today, we are committing environmental justice” and that the setting up of the CAA was done for the common good of today and tomorrow.
He also called for people across the Maltese islands to embrace this environmental transition.
Environment Minister Miriam Dalli commented that “the need to combat climate change transcends party lines” and that therefore, the setting up and launch of the Climate Action Authority “is an independent endeavour, not a partisan one.”
“It is of great satisfaction that the smallest EU country is taking this lead in this aspect,” Minister Dalli said.
The Climate Action Authority (CAA) formally began its functions on Monday. The CAA constitutes of a Board of seven people as well as an independent National Climate Action Council. All members within the CAA Board and National Climate Action Council have a term of three years. The members of these structures intentionally have diverse expertise to ensure that the CAA can promote a holistic approach in tackling climate change, with the long-term goal of helping the country become climate-neutral by 2050, across all sectors, it said.
The CAA Board is comprised of its Chairperson Mario Joseph Azzopardi, and six other members: Deputy Chairperson Dr. Jonathan Spiteri, Marika Sammut Dimech as the Board’s Secretary, as well as Dr. Marija Sara Vella Gafà, Ing. Paul Fenech, Prof. Ruben Paul Borg, and Sean Schembri as Directors.
The CAA Board is responsible for seeing that the country continues to abide by the legal instruments related to combatting climate change.
The National Climate Action Council has been set up within this framework as an independent advisor to the government on climate-change issues. This Council is presently chaired by Prof. Simone Borg and consists of eight other members: Deputy Chairperson Prof. Alan Deidun, its Secretary Ms. Maria Magri, and members Prof. Charles Galdies, Perit David Xuereb, Ms. Dina Quraishi, Ing. Joseph Restall, Prof. Godfrey Baldacchino, and Prof. Stefano Moncada.
Its main function is to provide strategic advice to the government, and the CAA Board, and ensure that Malta is on the right path to achieve its climate targets.
The entire Authority is to be headed by its appointed CEO, Ing. Abigail Cutajar.
During a media briefing with journalists, Environment Minister Miriam Dalli said that the government opted against setting up the CAA as an agency in order to grant it greater regulatory control and allow it to better manage cross-cutting between different government ministries, entities, departments, etc.
Minister Dalli said that for climate neutrality to be achieved by 2050, policymakers must not assume that time is on their side, being over 25 years away. She stated that “ambitious changes should not be obstacles” and that “courageous decisions” are required to fight climate change, before then describing the foundation of the CAA as a courageous decision in itself.
Power to issue climate regulations
Through the Minister responsible for Climate Change – who is presently the Minister for Environment – the CAA has the power to issue climate-related regulations. By going past a mere watchdog over green ambitions, the Authority can take on an active role in guaranteeing the implementation of the local Climate Action Act.
This is just one of nine listed responsibilities of the new Authority. The other eight are to raise awareness and foster a better understanding of climate change in the public eye; report Malta’s progress on related actions and measures; coordinate discussions to promote climate-friendliness; lead climate-action projects between ministries and other government entities; create schemes and incentives supporting climate action; gather information to eventually develop a climate policy framework; and finally, to implement a legal framework, including coming up with a national coordinated plan, to streamline everyone towards holistically combatting climate change.
Power to impose penalties
The Climate Action Authority, through the Minister for Environment, has the power to impose administrative penalties on persons or entities who are found to be in clear breach of any law related to mitigating climate change.
According to the Climate Action Act, such penalties can be as strict as four years imprisonment and up to €50,000 per day the concerned offence continues to clearly breach local legislation. These imposed fines, in total, have a maximum limit of €1,000,000, and can be imposed against any person, department, agency, corporation, or agency.
The administration of monetary penalties is to be decided through a three-step process. After evaluating the concerned regulation breach, the CAA Board will discuss this subject with stakeholders to better understand the nature of the subject area at hand. Afterwards, the Board will then decide on whether action should be taken be taken via administrative penalties or not.
Climate emergency and the Climate Action Authority’s near future
When questioned why the Climate Action Authority took five years to be set up since the Maltese Parliament declared a climate emergency, Minister Dalli noted that since then, entities and ministries have worked on green initiatives.
Dalli recounted the government’s commitment to promoting electric vehicles, the shore-to-ship project, and the introduction of fast ferries to cut car emissions as examples.
The CAA Board’s first item of business is to meet with a variety of stakeholders, as well as the independent National Climate Action Council to establish the ranking order of priorities, to determine what should be tackled immediately.
When the time comes, the CAA Board will also be responsible for transposing related international and EU law into local legislation. It will also have the duty to evaluate local policies related to climate-friendliness.
The CAA’s CEO, Abigail Cutajar, stated that transparency will be one of the main principles under which this new authority shall function. She also said that taking action is “vital” in working to become climate-neutral in the long-term, though that a balance must be sought between prioritising emerging green technologies and the already available supply.
National unity is crucial in the battle against Climate Change – PN
The Nationalist Party welcomed the launch of the Climate Action Authority, “an idea it has been advocating for since 2019, when the PN had tabled a Motion in Parlament and both sides had voted to declare a climate emergency.”
“We note with satisfaction various ideas and amendments that were accepted by the Government, and others that were implemented through compromise, to strengthen the work of the authority and the council. This, of course, is due to us recognising the urgency of the situation and that not enough is being done to combat Climate Change at present.”
“While we look forward to work on a national and non-partisan basis, we recognise and commit ourselves to truly being a watchdog and a check and balance on the authority’s work, to ensure that this effort is not just an exercise in greenwashing but one that genuinely leads to bold and innovative decisions that ensure a clean future and progress towards climate neutrality for coming generations,” the PN said.
