There’s no question about the urgency of the situation on the planet, despite the misinformed, who deny its existence.
We only have to read about the astonishing reports of massive flooding in Germany or extreme heat waves in the US to understand that there is no time to wait for future generations to deal with the results of man’s abuse of the Earth.
The cabinet’s decision on Sunday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85% from 2015 levels by 2050, as part of an international push to limit global warming, is both a historic awakening for Israel and a reminder of how far behind we are.
The government approved the 2050 target and set an interim target of 2030 to reduce emissions by 27% from levels in 2015, the year when global climate accords were agreed upon in Paris.
“We set significant goals, we met our international commitment on time and, most importantly, we mobilized the entire government,” Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg said.
True, there’s never been an Israeli government that has expressed such willingness to talk about subjects like decarbonization and to start stating reasonable, meaningful objectives. And as MK Alon Tal, who has been described as the country’s environmental conscience, told The Jerusalem Post this week, this is the first government to include the issue of climate change in its platform.
But, as Tal also pointed out, the modest goals set forth in this week’s announcement reveal that government policy is still driven by the Finance Ministry at the expense of the Energy and Environment ministries – and it doesn’t bode well for Israel’s climate policy over the next few years.
In terms of setting goals for transportation, the announcement was encouraging. But in terms of committing to renewable energy, Israel blinked in the face of the other countries who are party to the Paris accord.
Israel is still behind much of the Western world. Our commitment to 27% renewable energy by the year 2030 pales in comparison to the EU, which recently committed to emit 55% less greenhouse gases in 2030 and to the program set by US President Joe Biden which in only five more years – 2035 – is committing to 100% renewable energy.
While Israel’s move is a step in the right direction, it is not nearly enough. The parties in this coalition recognized the urgency of the issue, but they can’t just talk the talk – they need to walk the walk.
One way is to appoint someone from the Environmental Protection Ministry to chair the Public Utilities Authority, which acts as the power regulator, currently seeking a candidate for the five-year term.
Israel has been blessed with natural gas, but that, too, is finite. Part of the revenue from the gas must be dedicated to research and encouraging renewable energy sources, such as solar energy.
There’s no reason that Israel should be dragging its feet in reducing its carbon footprint. The excuse that we are living under special circumstances with existential threats facing us is no longer a valid reason to ignore the changes that are required.
For the first time, a defense minister of Israel – Benny Gantz – spoke about the strategic importance of having a dispersed renewable energy system, as opposed to an economy that relies on fossil fuels and could be targeted by enemy countries.
In Paris, world leaders had pledged by the end of 2020 to formulate a vision and goals for transitioning to low-carbon or even zero-emission economies by 2050. Until this week’s announcement, Israel had not yet responded to its international obligations under the Paris climate accord.
On the road to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November, Israel should step up its game. This week’s announcement was a first step, but it barely gets us off the bench.