Greenhouse gas emissions in the two small island states of the European Union : a focus on the transportation sector

Abstract

The emission of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) produced by human activity is impacting the environment, often irreversibly, and their accumulation is generating and accelerating a global phenomenon known as climate change, been discussed within the global agenda since its first appearance in 1979 at the Assembly General of the United Nations. Whilst there is a great range of economic sectors that produce large quantities of GHGs, some of them are much more regulated and addressed within the European Union, especially through the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). The mitigation of GHG emissions lying outside the EU ETS is largely left at the discretion of each country, with one of the most important sectors being Transportation, coming second only to the energy sector for absolute quantity of GHG emissions. Considering that Cyprus and Malta are the two only Small Island States (SIS) of the EU, and they are the second and third countries, respectively, with the largest amounts of motor vehicles per 100 inhabitants in the European Union, this research focuses on the measures adopted by this two SIS to mitigate the emission of greenhouse gases in the land transportation sector. This is done by adopting mixed methods, assessing qualitatively and quantitatively the budgets from both countries, for the period 2017- 2021. A comparative analysis of the results of this assessment will also be performed against the European Commission Recommendations on both Countries’ National Energy Action Plans, and finally comparing their actions between them as the two only SIS of the EU. This assessment has the intent to understand if the measures adopted are sufficient to cope with current EU targets for GHG reductions, and the drive to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The results show that Malta appears to have a much more proactive approach with a total of 70 measures through the assessed period, against only 2 adopted by Cyprus. Nonetheless, a large number of the Maltese measures present barriers, and contradictions, such as scarcity of details in terms of implementation as well as unclear budgetary allocation. The overall results indicate that all measures do not appear to be coping with the EU´s intended direction towards carbon neutrality, nor to respond to the EU Commission's recommendations on both National Energy Action Plans. Further research is required to assess more recent ongoing measures, which could meet the EU’s targets and requirements for the two SIS of the EU.