Israel ratifies Paris Agreement to control climate change
Israel’s targets involve a 25% reduction in its 2005 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 – limiting residents to 7.7 tons of carbon dioxide per capita.
By SHARON UDASINParis, France(photo credit: WIKIMEDIA)
Ten days after the Paris Agreement on climate change went into force, the Israeli government ratified the international accord on Monday evening.The Paris Agreement is a universal climate accord first adopted on December 12 at last year’s UN Conference on Climate Change – Conference of Parties 21 (COP-21). Signatories to the agreement determined that the global temperature rise must be kept “well below 2°C” by means of varying national targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.After ratifying the agreement on Monday, Israel joined 109 parties that have already done so, and all in all account for 79% of the world’s emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Ministry.Israel’s ratification took place as this year’s UN Conference on Climate Change – COP-22 unfolded in Marrakech, Morocco. Environmental Protection Minister Ze’ev Elkin is slated to fly to Morocco on Tuesday to represent Israel at the convention.“The Paris Agreement not only binds the State of Israel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions like all developed countries, but it is also a tremendous opportunity for the growth of the Israeli cleantech sector, providing new technological solutions in the field of environmental protection and coping with climate change for the whole world,” Elkin said Monday.Prior to last year’s COP-21, all participant nations submitted Intended National Determined Contribution plans for the accord to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).Israel’s targets involve a 25% reduction in its 2005 greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 – limiting residents to 7.7 tons of carbon dioxide per capita.ADAM SZUBIN (left), acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury Department, is interviewed yesterday by ‘Jerusalem Post’ editor-in-chief Yaakov Katz at the Jewish Federations General Assembly in Washington. (Ron Sachs/CNP