In light of the news that Malta’s 2021 Summer Carnival and Notte Bianca being cancelled, Chairman of the Valletta Cultural Agency Jason Micallef addresses the situation with bewildered shock and disappointment. Writing on Facebook, Micallef asks why Notte Bianca, which happens in the first weekend of October in Valletta, has been once again cancelled due to COVID-19 health measures. As of writing this article, it seems that Carnival Malta 2021 will be the one cancelled as amendments to the initial news revealed that further information on Notte Bianca will be released in due time.
He rhetorically asks whether Malta aims to go blindly into nothingness post-pandemic as arts and culture remain discriminated against by the health authorities. This, says Micallef, is the same economic, social and cultural sector in Valletta which achieved so much in the years prior to the pandemic. This same sector, however, is being abandoned to be destroyed, undoing all the progress.
Jason Micallef points to the fact that most of Malta’s population is fully vaccinated along with herd immunity. He also asks whether arts and culture are considered less than sports or religious functions as the decisions being made post-COVID do not make any sense. Despite the vaccine rollout, herd immunity, potential for booster doses and certifications, the health authorities still seem to be placing the arts sector in between a rock and a hard place.
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Photo Source: Jason Borg, Jason Micallef
This dire situation can only be reversed if green house gas emissions and carbon dioxide are cut from the atmosphere, with lead author of the IPCC’s 2001 report saying that there are zero years left to avoid dangerous climate change. The breakneck speed with which the Earth is warming baffled, and outpaced, scientific predictions. Even if the most optimistic scenario were adhered to, which is that emissions start dropping today, global temperatures will still peak above the deadly threshold.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the report a code red for humanity as efforts need to be stepped up drastically if we wish to survive. Many countries have missed the deadlines to cut their emissions, with a significant gap forming between what leaders are promising and what is actually needed by 2030. Climate researcher Michael Byrne stated that we knew what was coming and now its here.
Heat waves have killed hundreds in the US Northwest and British Columbia, and heavy rainfall that used to occur once every 10 years now occurs 30% more frequently. Droughts now happen 70% more often globally. The chance to turn the tides is getting slimmer by the day. The further progress is prolonged, human lives are at stake, turning the world we inhabit into an inhospitable landscape at every turn.
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