Joseph Muscat Identifies Climate Change As Malta’s Next Big Economic Opportunity
Malta should take advantage of global movements towards climate-friendly policies to expand its own economy, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said today.
“I think climate-related changes in policy will be a main contributor to our growth,” Muscat told an EY conference today. “I’d beg to differ with those who think of the climate as some kind of tree-hugger subject; it’s mostly an economic subject.”
He said an opportunity exists for Malta to position itself as a “pro-business, climate-sensitive jurisdiction that there’s a need for in Europe and elsewhere”.
While he didn’t give any details about how he thinks Malta can position itself in this regard, he noted for the second time this week that the EU is currently discussing the potential introduction of a carbon border tax for environmentally unfriendly products exported from third countries.
“On the one hand, this will probably impact the most vulnerable people in society as they’re the ones who consume these products the most, but on the other hand it’s unfair that Europe sets extremely high standards on environment protection but our market then gets dumped by other products that don’t give a hoot.”
What do you make of this declaration?
READ NEXT: In Photos: Students In Malta Are Striking From School In Climate Change Protest
