On Thursday 28 April, the Gozo Business Chamber and EUROPE DIRECT Gozo in collaboration with Bank of Valletta, and the Foundation for Transport will be organised a webinar ‘Is Carbon Free Transport possible for Gozo? The Contribution of the Business Sector’.
Gozo being an island is dependent upon accessibiltiy. Accessibility implies that Gozo is also heavily reliant on transport. In 2021 alone, including the Gozo Channel ferry service and the fast ferry service, the number of trips carried out between Gozo and Malta reached a total of 38,453, with a total of 1,727,629 vehicles and 4,451,692 passengers crossings between the two islands (NSO, 2022, Sea transport between Malta and Gozo. p.3). Vehicle ownership is also very high when compared to the main island of Malta. The number of vehicles per 1,000 residents aged 18 years and over, on the main island of Malta was 887, while in Gozo the number went up to 1,365 (NSO, 2021, Regional Statistics p. 153). This means that Gozo is more reliant than the main island of Malta on private vehicle transport.
Transport is one of the key priorities of the European Commission. On the 14 December 2021 the Commission adopted the ‘Efficient and Green Mobility Package’. The four proposals in this package are intended to modernise the European Union’s transport system in some of its main components such as the Trans-European Transport Network, intelligent transport systems, long-distance and cross-border train travel and urban mobility. These proposals are intended to cut the emissions from the transport sector by 90%. While not all of these aspects are applicable to Malta and Gozo, green mobility is going to play an ever-increasing important role in the European scenario.
This webinar discussed green mobility in Gozo, with a special emphasis on the role of the business sector. Real case studies were presented on how businesses can play an important role in this transition. Moreover, a presentation on how this transition can be financed in the business sector was also delivered by representatives from Bank of Valletta, European Investment Bank and Price Waterhouse Coopers was also delivered.
Key speakers for this event included Dr Jeannette Axisa (Director General, Foundation for Transport), Mark Scicluna Bartoli (BOV) together with Roman Dojcak (European Investment Bank), Patrick Spiteri Staines, and Michel Ganado and Daniela Burlo from PwC.
You can download the agenda here.
The interventations/presentations can be downloaded through the following links:
