Safeguarding the environment is one of the highest priorities of this administration. Although development remains important for our country to progress economically, we need to protect our habitat. This is why the Government launched and will continue to offer incentives for families and businesses to enhance their efforts and embrace sustainable solutions. In recent years, Malta carried out substantial investments to improve air quality, by using cleaner energy sources, and has launched and started to implement numerous projects to this effect.

The increase in the use of renewable energy and key projects, such as the shore-to-ship, aimed at reducing pollution, are vital to safeguarding the environment. Incentives were also introduced to encourage more people to purchase electric vehicles. And as part of our commitment to reach our Malta Carbon Neutral objective, securing a green transition is at the very heart of our recovery and resilience plan, which was subsequently praised as one of the greenest plans in Europe.

In parallel, unprecedented investment in new open spaces for families to enjoy, has already started. Places that until recently were mere dump sites, have now been transformed into parks, with many more similar projects in the pipeline. Furthermore, we took crucial decisions at the start of this legislature that safeguarded thousands of square metres of ODZ, and launched new open green spaces in the heart of our communities.