When you are in a strange, new part of the world and looking for a destination, it helps to have a map or road signs to point the way. That is how Malta needs to consider the recommendations on emissions and traffic congestion included in the country report recently published by the European Commission. Before working out where you’re headed, though, it helps to know where you are.
The commission provides a troubling summary on that front. “Greenhouse gas emissions from road transport have increased by 23.3% compared to 2005 levels,” it noted in its report.
This can surprise nobody. Just look at the number of cars on the roads. Here is another data point: “Passenger cars make up 86% of passenger transport in Malta.
” And the number is increasing in an alarming fashion. In the first quarter of 2024, Malta’s total stock of licensed vehicles increased by 831 as compared to the previous quarter, according to the National Statistics Office. Now, that figure covers all types of vehicles but few will be shocked to learn that passenger cars dominate.
“The majority of newly licensed motor vehicles, 4,076, or 72.3% of the total, were passenger cars, followed by motorcycles/E-bikes/[pedal-assisted]-bikes with 734 or 13%,” the NSO said in May. Maltese motorists are embracing electric cars but slowly.
Of all the vehicles licensed from January to March, 58.2% were powered by petrol. Think about that lost traveller in a foreign land.
In our scenario, they have just performed .
