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Minister George Pullicino's opening address at conference, 'Biodiesel - Meeting the Challenge', organised by the EORC Group in collaboration with the Malta Chamber of Scientists held at the Intercontinental Hotel |
Date:
05/03/2005
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like, first of all, to welcome you and to congratulate and thank the Edible Oil Refining Company and the Malta Chamber of Scientists for organizing this conference. I am personally delighted to see the commitment and hard work that has been done so far particularly in the propagation of biodiesel. This has certainly contributed to the continuous efforts and initiatives that are being carried out to improve the environment of our Islands.
The continuous improvement of our environment is essentially today one of Government’s top priorities. Initiatives aimed at the improvement of the environment occupy a central part in the government’s agenda and the primary objective is to have a beautiful, clean and strong environment. This commitment stems from the fact that the progress of a country is measured not only in financial terms but also in terms of the quality of life. In order to ensure this quality of life, we must also be competitive by improving our environment.
Undoubtedly air quality features high on the environment agenda and continues to be one of the main environmental challenges in our Islands. The quality of air should be such so as to be completely safe to human health and able to support animal and plant life functions and eco-systems.
The main contributors to air pollution are essentially energy generation and transport. In recent years quantities of greenhouse gas emissions have increased due to the increased demand for electrical energy and the growth of private car ownership. This has resulted in risks of atmospheric pollution by lead, particulates, sulphur and nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds including benzene.
Indeed Malta has one of the highest vehicle-to-population ratios in the world which includes buses, trucks and cars. The increasing number of vehicles that utilise large amounts of fossil fuels and consequently yielding harmful emissions have not only continued to degrade Malta’s air quality and environment, but are also contributing to the greenhouse effect. In seeking mitigation of such emissions, policies for increasing efficiency of generation as well as utilisation of renewable energy sources must essentially play a large part.
Clean air is thus a key sustainability target and will in fact be highlighted in Malta’s Strategy for Sustainable Development. The Strategy will consist of an overarching vision and principles listing the aspirations of government, civil society and the private sector. It will also outline methods of implementation, taking into account Malta’s capacities and constraints. The proposed strategy will incorporate four main headings, namely, managing the environment and resources, promoting sustainable economic development, fostering sustainable communities and cross-cutting strategic issues.
A participatory and consultative process, involving major stakeholders, was devised by the National Commission for Sustainable Development (NCSD) to further develop the strategy and to identify priorities. Towards this end, the Commission has carried out consultations with major groups including women, farmers, NGOs, tourism and transport among others. A consultation conference was also held in Gozo.
The Sustainable Development Strategy will also assist Malta to fulfil its commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Climate change has in fact become the greatest and most urgent environmental challenge facing mankind today. Malta was instrumental in launching and piloting the concept of Climate Change through international fora. In particular, Malta made a proposal for a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly in 1988 urging the ‘protection of global climate for present and future generations of mankind’. This proposal was adopted as resolution 43/53 and was the foundation on which future developments in this field, including the Kyoto Protocol, were based.
The 16th of February marked the entry into force of the Kyoto protocol on climate change. The Kyoto Protocol sets quantified targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It sends a strong signal world wide that we need new climate friendly technologies. Thus working together to develop cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicle technologies is an important further step in that partnership towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
The European Union is taking a leading role in the international action on climate change. It has undertaken to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 8% of 1990 levels over the first Kyoto Protocol commitment period (2008 – 2012). An emissions trading scheme for greenhouse gas emissions within the European Union has also been established (through Directive 2003/87/EC) and Member States are required to prepare National Allocation Plans to cover emissions trading to be undertaken in the EU.
Malta ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1994 and ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2001. Last year Malta submitted its first National Allocation Plan to cover emissions trading to be undertaken in the EU for the three-year period from January 2005 to December 2007. Further National Allocation Plans for Malta will be prepared for each subsequent five year period.
Increased efforts within the European Union are also being directed towards the promotion of the use of biofuels or other renewable fuels for transport. The European Commission had set the objective of 20% substitution of conventional fuels by alternative fuels in the road transport sector by the year 2020. The European Parliament has also called for an increase in the market share of biofuels to 2% over five years. In an attempt to promote the use of biofuels, various measures including tax exemption, financial assistance for the processing industry and the establishment of a compulsory rate of biofuels for oil companies, are being proposed. Many EU Member states have in fact taken this on board and are completely free from any form of tax regime.
Consequently, there are numerous factors that underline the importance of finding cleaner fuels for Malta. Today these do not only include health (human and ecological) and economic factors but Malta’s international obligations have also encouraged us to seek alternative fuels.
Government has in fact bound itself by legislation to enforce the use of biofuels. The ‘Use of Biofuels or Other Renewable Fuels for Transport Regulations’ issued last year have set a national indicative target of the proportion of biofuels placed on the market and calculated on the basis of energy content of all petrol and diesel for road transport purposes. The Regulations stipulate an indicative target of 0.3% to be reached by 31 December 2005.
Moreover various initiatives aimed at protecting the environment were also introduced in the last budget. One of the measures adopted in effect deals with the promotion of bio diesel and its exemption from excise duty.
With the introduction of this measure, Government will ultimately achieve two objectives. Biodiesel is a cleaner burning diesel fuel and is biodegradable and reduces emission of pollutants such as soot, particulates, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons. Essentially promoting its use will translate into less pollution in the air and less harm to our health. Hence its use will have a positive impact on the environment in general. Secondly, bio diesel, in our case, is a product made from edible oil and lard which, if not used to produce biodiesel, would otherwise be dumped.
Keeping these objectives in mind, the Ministry for Rural Affairs and the Environment has been collaborating with WasteServ Ltd and the Edible Oil Refining Company Ltd to carry out a pilot project aimed at collecting edible waste oils from households. These waste oils will then be collected and used to produce bio diesel.
Besides having a positive impact on the environment, this pilot project will also assist to address some of the Island’s waste- related issues since it will prevent used cooking oil from entering the environment through the sewage system. Moreover the project will lead to a decrease in the expenses incurred in preventive maintenance and stoppage costs in maintaining the drainage system.
This pilot project will initially target 16,400 households in various localities. Households will be given the opportunity to collect their waste oils rather than throw them down their drains. Discussions on the technicalities of the pilot project are currently underway and we aim to launch this pilot project later on this year.
A similar initiative between the Edible Oil Refining Company Ltd and the catering and hotel industry has in fact been ongoing for quite some time now. May I take the opportunity to congratulate you on this positive initiative. With several hundred restaurants and hotels that serve the tourist industry, this initiative has given us a viable solution to the frequent practice of throwing waste oils and grease down drains or into the landfill.
The use of biodiesel is also being implemented and continues to be promoted throughout the whole of Government. For example the Malta Planning and Environment Authority and a number of Government departments have been making use of bio diesel fuel instead of petroleum diesel for their fleet of diesel model vehicles. This initiative is assisting the us in our efforts to contribute to a cleaner and healthier environment.
Looking ahead, tomorrow’s biofuels technology may indeed allow us to produce biofuels from materials such as grass, straw, wood and organic waste. But liquid biofuels, such as biodiesel have a role to play now. Government is committed to encouraging its use since this will ultimately contribute to our long term aim of sustainable development.
Biodiesel is relatively new to Malta and the Maltese and thus I hope that this conference will give you an opportunity to find out more about the product. The presentations that will be delivered this morning by the various stakeholders are intended to further explain and discuss biodiesel in more detail. The use of biodiesel in the local scenario and more information on the pilot project for households that will be launched later on this year, will also be addressed.
I sincerely hope that you will have an interesting and fruitful morning and I thank you for your time and attention. I will now give the floor to Professor Alex Felice.
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