Climate change adaptation and the role of civil society organisations in the Mediterranean region : a case of Malta

Abstract

One of the major issues facing many nations worldwide is climate change, which is defined as a shift in the composition of the atmosphere and the unpredictability of ambient conditions across similar time periods caused either actively or passively by human activity. The most recent sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in their dedicated chapter on small islands indicates that more needs to be learned about how climate change is affecting small islands, particularly what are the most effective adaptation measures. The overarching aim of this research is to investigate the role of civil society organisations in Malta in climate change adaptation. This shall be done by answering three research questions: (i) What are the trends and impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean region, and specifically on the Maltese island (RQ1); (ii) How are civil society organisations in Maltese islands addressing the challenges posed by climate change adaptation in their strategies and campaigns (RQ2); and (iii) To what extent are civil society organisations collaborating with key stakeholders such as private sector and government to foster climate change adaptation, and vice versa (RQ3) This qualitative study adopted a narrative literature review to answer research question one (RQ1) while an expert interview was conducted to answer research questions two and three (RQ2 & RQ3). Thematic and document analyses were conducted to analyse the responses of the interviewees. The research was divided into 4 stages of literature review, expert interviews, reflective thematic analysis, and document analysis. The main themes that emerged from this study are co-designing of adaptation policies, stakeholders’ engagement and the extent of involvement in policy process. This research found that CSOs participation in climate change adaptation is at the level of policy because Malta needs to improve on so many legislations concerning climate for anything meaningful to happen. Secondly, even though CSO are always willing to hold conversations, the government is reluctant. This is evident in the manner at which they involve CSO in decision-making processes. It is not just enough to invite the CSO, but invitation must be early at the formulation stage. Evidence shows that most of the invitations initiated by the government are just mere procedural exercises without real impacts on the final policy documents.