Declaring a climate emergency with legally binding goals is a unique opportunity to rise to the occasion, the Nationalist Party said on Friday.
Speaking from the Opposition headquarters in Pieta, PN Deputy Leader David Agius said that following Thursday’s debate, the Government now has until Tuesday to listen to the youth and civil society.
Agius maintained that they must declare what the people have expected of them – a declaration for a Climate Change Emergency.
“We want to give hope to the youths that there are politicians that listen to them.
“Let’s sit together and call this as a Parliament, a Maltese Parliament.”
PN MP Jason Azzopardi added that this had nothing to do with party politics but with the country, going on to point out that the years 2030 and 2050 are not as far away as they may seem.
He insisted that Malta is falling behind with regards to the environmental goals set by the European Union, with the EU having said that by 2030 there is a big probability that we would fall behind said goals by 46%.
“It is not anger that we feel, but disappointment.”
With regards to criticism from the Government in Parliament, Azzopardi pointed out that in the 2015 law being referenced there was no climate emergency mentioned anywhere in the text, and that nowhere were there clear goals that the country must reach till 2030 or 2050.
PN MP Karl Gouder concluded that the chance to have a Parliamentary Committee that would deal specifically with the issue at hand was last, and warned that if next week’s vote does not pass then who know when the next one will be held.
