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General Information

The Kyiv Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer is a legally binding international instrument on pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTR). The instrument is a protocol to the Aarhus Convention and it aims “to enhance public access to information through the establishment of coherent, nationwide pollutant release and transfer registers (PRTRs)” A PRTR is an inventory of emissions from industrial sites to air, water and soil, which may be hazardous. The PRTR is an important tool for environmental policy which encourages industries and facilities to reduce their impact on the environment, whilst maintaining transparency with the public.

The PRTR Protocol entered into force, thus binding its Parties, on 8 October 2009. The European Union (EU) is one of the Parties to this protocol owing to the adoption of the Council Decision (2006/61/EC) of 2 December 2005 on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of the UN-ECE Protocol on Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers.  In furtherance of this, the EU published Council Regulation EC 166/2006 concerning the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register and amending Council Directives 91/689/EEC and 96/61/EC on the 18 January 2006.

Malta became a Party to the PRTR Protocol on the 20th May 2016. However prior to this date, the provisions of the Protocol applied indirectly to Malta through its membership in the EU and through the application of the EU E-PRTR Regulations (EC 166/2006), which applied directly to all EU Member States.

National data is reported to the European Commission via the European Environment Agency on a yearly basis and these are then subsequently uploaded on a dedicated EU wide E-PRTR website. Please click on the following link, should you wish to view any of the data reported by Malta in the previous years.

National Implementation Report

Pursuant to Article 17 of the PRTR Protocol, Parties are required to continuously review the implementation of the Protocol on a regular basis through national reports. To further promote the exchange of knowledge and experience, the national implementation reports prepared by the Parties for each reporting cycle are made accessible through the UNECE PRTR website.

As a party to the PRTR Protocol, Malta is required to submit a National Implementation Report to the Secretariat of the PRTR Protocol nine months prior to the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (which meets every four years). The first report was submitted in 2021 and may be accessed in the following link. The next report is due in 2025.

As part of the process of preparing the National Implementation Report, ERA launches two public consultations. The first consultation relates to the format of the report. In this consultation, the public is urged to submit any suggestions of PRTR related topics that they would like to see tackled in the report. The second and final consultation is on the actual draft report that has been prepared by the Authority. The public is given sufficient time to comment and raise their concerns. The Authority will then prepare the final report taking into consideration any comments received. A detailed account of the process required to prepare the NIR can be found on the following link.

Access to Information and Transparency

The PRTR Protocol through its data reporting, helps in improving transparency, efficiency and accountability, which are key elements of good governance. A binding factor that helps improve good governance is the effective regulatory tool of public consultation. Given the responsibilities that fall under ERA’s remit, the Authority is conscious that informing and involving the public and all interested parties in policy taking and decision taking is crucial to the holistic protection and improvement of our environment.

The EU E-PRTR Regulation was set up with the following main aims:

• to encourage improvements in environmental performance by industry;
• to provide public access to information on releases of pollutants and off-site transfers of pollutants and waste;
• to inform the public about important pollutant emissions due to certain installations;
• to track trends in emissions;
• to demonstrate progress in pollution reduction;
• to monitor compliance with certain international agreements;
• to enable setting up of environmental priorities; and
• to evaluate environmental progress.

The E-PRTR is useful as it improves public awareness of environmental pollution and enhances transparency and comparability. In line with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention and the PRTR Protocol, members of the public are to be granted unrestricted access to the information contained in the E-PRTR.

More information on the Regulation may be found from the following link.

National PRTR data is also available for viewing and download purposes on the Malta Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI) on the following link

Members of the public may request information, either in the Maltese or the English languages via e-mail on [email protected], or by calling on 22923500 to set an appointment for a physical or online meeting.

Information for operators

The EU E-PRTR Regulation (EC 166/2006) obliges certain installations (such as power stations and certain waste management activities) in EU Member States to report their annual emission releases to air, water and land (soil) and waste transfers to the relevant Competent Authority (ERA in Malta). ERA then reports the data to the European Commission, who subsequently makes the data accessible in a free online EU public register (the E-PRTR).

The deadline for reporting by the operators has been set to March of each year as per the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register Reporting Obligations Regulations, S.L 549.47. Data for a particular calendar year is required to be submitted by March of the following year to ERA in electronic format as indicated in the respective permit conditions of the facility.

ERA has published a template for reporting by the operators, in order to provide a simple and uniform means of reporting.

In addition, the European Commission has issued a guidance document, to assist operators with complying with the requirements of the E-PRTR Regulation (Regulation EC 166/2006).

A link to Maltese version of this webpage can be found here.