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The Malta country profile provides a concise overview of key trends across three dimensions: environment and climate; socio-economic change; and system change (energy, mobility and food) in the country. It highlights the main developments and challenges in these areas, including measures to support progress towards sustainability in Malta . An assessment for each of the three dimensions was prepared by national experts from the European Environment Information and Observation Network (Eionet) in Malta, based on 20 established indicators from the EEA or Eurostat.

Malta has made considerable progress in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, increasing the renewable energy share and decoupling economic growth from material use. Nevertheless, Malta’s progress towards environmental sustainability faces significant challenges, but also significant opportunities. Malta’s small land area, high population density and fragmented land area produce hurdles to increasing organic farming, protecting biodiversity and managing emissions effectively. Sustained efforts to decarbonise the economy, particularly by increasing building energy efficiency and managing the transport sector, are key to securing ongoing progress.

Sustainability opportunities are offered to support organic farming, with enhanced production and market organisation leadership and financial support, and to promote urban greening and habitat restoration in support of land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) removals. There is also considerable commitment to increasing the renewable energy share through photovoltaics and biofuels, despite physical and spatial limitations.

Reduced waste generation and the transition to a circular economy are key challenges regarding which substantial progress is expected to be made. Initiatives like increasing the material recovery capacity, investing in a waste-to-energy plant and investing in organic processing reflect Malta’s commitment to sustainable waste management.

These policy efforts establish Malta’s path to environmental sustainability and need to be supported by the right investments and societal shifts to seize the available opportunities.

1Environment and climate2Socio-economic change3System change
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Summary assessment

Malta’s unique circumstances and challenges require national sustainability commitments and progress in environmental and climate initiatives. . Managing 365 km2 of land facing mounting demands from demographic change and economic expansion is no easy feat, as these main drivers of urban land use make finding a balance challenging. Malta’s capacity to adapt to climate change is being examined by the VRA project to support climate-resilient policy.

The ecological status of coastal waters remains generally good and 35.5 % of Malta’s fisheries management zone is protected. However, several commercially exploited marine species, most of which are shared stocks, . Water stress continues due to high demand for limited groundwater resources, and quality assessments show nitrate and chloride contamination. .

Malta’s renewable energy contribution increased from 3.76% in 2013 to 13.40% in 2022. Although constrained by land availability, policy solutions continue to prioritise offshore potential, solar photovoltaics, battery storage, waste-to-energy plants, renewable water-heating technologies, biofuels in transport and the . Malta has also reduced PM2.5 emissions by 50% since 2005. GHG emissions have reduced significantly with shifts in energy generation. Recent increases in carbon dioxide emissions emphasise the need to continue efforts to decarbonise the economy by increasing building energy efficiency and .

Malta is continuing its efforts to reduce waste generation and improve waste management through projects such as the deposit return system, Ecohive and circular economy .

Malta’s , and all recognise the environment as a priority for social and economic sustenance. Malta has one of the highest levels of environmental protection expenditure in the EU, fluctuating around an average of 2.01% of , mainly directed towards waste management, wastewater management and the .

Investments in eco-innovation, particularly in renewable energy and waste management, have increased. Malta’s environmental goods and services sector remains below the EU average, reflecting the economic climate. Malta ranked 20th in the 2024 Eco-Innovation Index, with a composite index of 99.2 relative to the EU average of 127.5. In 2019, Malta exhibited an excellent performance in resource efficiency outcomes, . Production, value added and exports in the environmental goods and services sector rose . Employment in this sector is around 1.5% of total employment, mostly in waste management, the protection of biodiversity and landscapes and water and wastewater management, .

Malta faces challenges in transitioning the economy towards circularity and reducing waste generation intensity and dependency on fossil fuels. Policies continue to prioritise solar photovoltaics, waste-to-energy plants and the partial electrification . Public fossil fuel subsidies are low compared with those in other economies; however, there was an increase in such subsidies between 2021 and 2023 to adjust to the 10, while supporting the transition to cleaner renewable energy sources.

Recent initiatives by the government aim to ensure a socially fair and just transition, which is essential for the success of policies and actions. Despite a relatively low level of energy poverty, Malta’s Gini coefficient has been largely stable, but highlights moderate income inequality. The 2021–2030 national , the and the emphasise that lifelong learning, retraining and a strong investment in tertiary education are crucial to ensuring a successful socioeconomic transformation. This also requires behavioural changes in established lifestyles to reduce Malta’s consumption footprint.

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The food system

Malta , making it vulnerable to global disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions and rising input costs. The Malta Food Agency is working to increase local and sustainable food options, reduce food-related transportation emissions and address food and packaging waste. In 2022, the estimated food waste generated totalled 86.295 t, marking a 7% increase compared with 2021. Most of the food waste originated from households, accounting for 53%, while restaurants and food services contributed 31%. In 2023, Malta launched its first , which promotes healthier diets while supporting the local economy by diversifying local organic production and increasing its availability in stores. Additionally, Malta’s strategy for resilient food systems was published for public consultation, proposing an authority for food safety and security and aiming to align stakeholders in the food ecosystem to . Its three pillars focus on modernising agricultural infrastructure and encouraging generational renewal in agriculture and fisheries, ensuring food security that is resilient to global disruptions and instilling pride in and reconnecting citizens with their food.

Climate-smart agriculture is supported by providing financial incentives for farmers who adopt eco-friendly practices, including soil conservation and organic farming under Malta’s agri-environment and climate commitments (AECCs). These are administered by the Agricultural and Rural Payments Agency, which implements eco-schemes under the 2023–2027 common agricultural policy strategic plan for Malta. Investment-type operations related to such actions may also be supported. These AECCs and eco-schemes incentivise farmers to adopt land management . Compliance with the minimum obligations under ‘conditionality’ (previously, ‘cross-compliance’), which comprises the good agricultural and environmental conditions, is enforced, ensuring soil protection, water retention and erosion control measures are applied across farms. The total land committed under the AECCs amounts to ca 3 400 ha, which corresponds to around 33% of the total agricultural land.

MAFA is currently implementing a proposed reform on the acquisition and ownership of farmland, aiming to guarantee the sustainability of agriculture and food production and the protection of the rural environment by addressing issues that may bring about the loss of agricultural land. Through this reform, agricultural land will be protected by ensuring that it is cultivated and farmed by traditional  farmers. Agricultural soil is also protected by measures implemented under the Fertile Soil (Preservation) Act, which controls the management and .

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The energy system

Malta’s 2024 update of the 2021–2030 NECP outlines the country’s strategies to transition towards a low-carbon economy. Malta is projected to experience significant economic and demographic change over the next decade, with the population projected , with sustained growth in tourist arrivals. This growth will inevitably lead to increased energy demand. Despite these challenges, Malta is committed to transitioning to a low-carbon economy by increasing renewable energy generation and improving energy efficiency.

Government incentives and environmental and social governance for companies have been shown to contribute towards the increased adoption of more efficient and renewable technologies. Given that such measures are typically capital-intensive, a package of grants and operating aid (e.g. feed-in tariffs for renewable electricity) is in place to encourage the (e.g. photovoltaic panels, solar-powered water heaters and heat pump water heaters) and more energy-efficient equipment and solutions, such as double-glazing and roof insulation. These incentives not only make energy-efficient and renewable technologies more accessible to consumers but also help to reduce consumers’ energy bills.

The residential and services sectors are already highly electrified, while significant support is being provided to incentivise the purchase of electric vehicles. This measure has several benefits, including reductions in fuel consumption and GHG emissions and the elimination of exhaust pipe emissions. Another important measure in the transport sector is promoting the use of biofuels. Blending mandates for biofuels are in force to ensure an increasing share of renewable energy in road transport. These mandates now need to be extended to cover the aviation and maritime sectors. Other measures, including modal shift measures, . These include free public transport, free public transport to schools and free intra-port maritime connections, all of which are intended to drive a modal shift away from private transport methods.

Increasing Malta’s renewable energy share and reducing its energy consumption requires further effort and access to new technologies at reasonable prices. In fact, the government has made available a number of grant schemes to encourage the adoption of renewable energy, battery storage and energy-efficient technologies in buildings. Recent technological innovations such as bifacial photovoltaic panels and floating renewable energy technologies are important developments enabling Malta to make more efficient use of its limited land space and maximise the . Together with the development of energy storage solutions, these renewable energy technologies have the potential to increase Malta’s renewable energy generation and the reliability and stability of the energy grid. This will ensure an equitable energy transition.

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The mobility system

The number of passenger trips by bus in Malta has been increasing since 2016, . One of the main contributors to this change was the introduction of the free public transport measure, under which all passengers in possession of a personalised travel card (the tallinja card) benefit from free public transport.

The increase in foreign residents also boosted bus use. Between 2019 and 2023, there was an increase of 17.6% in student bus users, and between 2023 and 2024 there was a further increase in the total number of passenger trips, reaching 75.8 million. Parking problems at most educational institutions may have contributed to this increase in students using public buses. In addition, those residing in Malta’s principal urban hub tend to have a higher modal share for bus trips than residents in more rural areas. This is due to several factors, such as longer travel times, the limited capacity of bus routes to rural areas and the scarcity of parking spaces in urban areas, where garage space comes at a premium. Malta lacks historical data on societal attitudes towards walking and cycling, despite the small size and low modal share of both. However, the National Household Travel Survey (2021) asked respondents to identify barriers to active mobility use. The three most common barriers to walking were trip duration (more than 10 minutes), poor quality . For cycling, barriers were the lack of confidence in riding a bike, road safety concerns and the lack or poor quality of cycling infrastructure. To address this, the government has recently committed to investing EUR 35 million in the ‘connections . It is also noted that the lack of disincentives related to car ownership and car use creates a situation where there is simply not a target demographic large enough to maintain a car-sharing service in a financially sustainable manner. Increasing restrictions on private car ownership and usage could counter this.

Grants for low-emission or zero-emission vehicles have influenced public attitudes towards purchasing such vehicles, since they reduce the upfront cost and make them more accessible. Therefore, consumers may feel more compelled to make sustainable decisions, and eventually a social norm will take root when these vehicles become economically beneficial.

Pedestrianisation, shared spaces and mixed-use developments positively contribute towards the modal shift to active transport modes, but any intervention must be carefully assessed and holistically planned. The pedestrianisation of Republic Street in Valletta was a holistic strategy to reduce car use in the capital, while the pedestrianisation of Mosta Square was only partially successful because little thought was given to rerouting traffic, investing in new parking or introducing new shuttles towards outside urban areas.

A shift towards digitalisation has contributed , whether it be because of telework, online shopping and food delivery services or the replacement of car trips with motor scooters.