Greener buildings can contribute towards better air quality
Malta has topped the list of EU countries whose population has reported being exposed to pollution, figures released by Eurostat (2019) which recorded “by far the highest share of its population reporting that they had been exposed to pollution, grime or other environmental problem”. [1]
Large scale construction projects are having a “devastating” impact on people’s quality of life due to added traffic congestion, pollution and noise [1]
Additionally, a 2018 European Commission report on the Paris Climate Agreement warned that Malta was the only EU country having to buy emission credits from other member states as it continued to come way short of reduction targets. Missed targets has been attributed to road pollution caused by cars, but as significantly, by the increased hydrofluoro-carbon emissions from the rising demand for air-conditioning [2] as the climate warms up, a trend confirmed in a number of recent IPCC Reports regarding climate change patterns. Malta’s weather patterns, as aprt of southern Europe, predict increasing temperatures for summer and cooler, wetter winters.
Stronger, enforced legislation with the retrofitting of existing building stock, together with mandatory requirements for greener building standards could contribute significantly towards lower emission targets on the Maltese islands. The findings from a number of academic papers, where buildings that incorporate passive vernacular techniques together with other designs strategies that do not cost significantly more than standard construction, combined with renewable technologies including solar energies, can lead to significantly less requirement for hot water heating/mechanical cooling.
Improved air quality would be a perceptible by product of better healthier and greener buildings. The current trend, with premature deaths by diseases brought on by airborne pollutants, is depicted to be twice as high as previously thought. These have been attributed to increased hydrofluorocarbons in the air, a by product of the increased use of air conditioning [3].
If the entire building codes and regulations are to be centralized in Malta, and regulated as is being promised, then why not incorporate effective low energy strategies towards zero carbon buildings as in mainland Europe?
What are your thoughts on this? We’d love to hear from you.
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