BREAKING NEWS

Israel approves greenhouse emissions reduction plan

Cabinet members approved Israel’s new greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets on Sunday, paving the way for the country to submit its plans to the upcoming Conference of Parties to be convened by the United Nations this December.
The targets approved by the cabinet, however, are diluted versions of the goals originally recommended by the Environmental Protection Ministry in July - first and foremost involving a 25 percent reduction in 2005 emissions levels by 2030, rather than the originally suggested 30% goal.
After coming to an agreement with the National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Ministry, as well as the Finance Ministry, over the weekend, the Environment Ministry submitted the revised targets for government approval on Sunday.
The cabinet’s authorization of a greenhouse gas emissions target was a precursor toward finalizing Israel’s intended national determined contribution (INDC) plan for December’s Conference of Parties (COP-21) in Paris.
Participant nations in COP-21 are aiming to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement to ensure that global warming never surpasses 2°. The December conference will be the 21st such annual conference to occur as a result of the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, during which countries adopted the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).