The aggregate amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) of all countries emitted into the atmosphere determines their concentration in the air. As their concentration is higher, a greater increase in temperature on Earth is expected, resulting in a worsening of global climate change phenomena
The aggregate amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) of all countries emitted into the atmosphere determines their concentration in the air. As their concentration is higher, a greater increase in temperature on the earth is expected, resulting in an aggravation of the effects of climate change in the world.
Global warming, which results from the emission of man-made greenhouse gases, has been recognized in recent decades as one of the most serious problems that the international community has to deal with. This understanding motivated the international community to formulate in 1992 the United Nations Framework Convention (the UNFCCC), to which Israel is a signatory.
The audit revealed that:
Per capita emissions in Israel are high compared to other countries:
The emission trend per capita is mainly in a decreasing trend (non-continuous decrease from about 10.7 tons CO2eq per capita in 2000 to about 8.8 tons CO2eq per capita in 2018). However, compared to the 29 OECD countries that were surveyed, in 2016 Israel was ranked tenth (in the top third) in the list of countries with the highest per capita emissions rate. Israel's relatively high emission values per square meter (3.6 tons per square meter as of 2018), combined with the fact that it is a country with a population of approximately 9.3 million people, means that Israel emits greenhouse gases on a similar scale to a medium-sized country.
Aspects of the Israeli government's actions to reduce GAZ until the year 2020
Mitigation (actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) in the years 1996-2009: Although Israel joined the UNFCCC treaty and ratified it in 1996, it emerged that 13 years later it made operative decisions concerning the formulation of a policy on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Even then, the actions required to implement the recommendations and decisions on the matter and to achieve real achievements in the area of reducing greenhouse gas emissions were not taken, even though the cost-benefit studies that were carried out revealed that there are clear benefits in implementing measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Determining targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions:
- More than 20 years after joining the UNFCCC, in April 2016 the Israeli government adopted a national plan with GHG emission reduction targets (general and sectoral) lower than the conservative recommendation drawn up by an inter-ministerial steering committee (instead of 7.2 tons of CO2eq per capita, a target of 7.7 tons was set CO2eq per capita).
- Israel set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions per capita only, although developed countries must set goals with absolute and ambitious values. Setting per capita targets allows Israel to raise the absolute amount of emissions as long as there is population growth, this is in contrast to the (negative) trend in the other OECD countries.
- Israel set a target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions which was expected to lead to an absolute increase of 103% in emissions compared to 1990 and 12% compared to 2005, while the targets of the other countries surveyed (Switzerland, the European Union, Canada, the United States, Mexico and South Korea) were expected lead to an average decrease of 32% and 33%, respectively.
Therefore, Israel is not a "leading" country in setting GAZ reduction targets as required by the Paris Agreement.
Maximizing the reduction potential compared to the target of 7.7 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per capita: Comprehensive cost-benefit studies carried out over the years revealed that there are significant economic benefits in adopting dozens of different GAZ reduction measures that have been tested (sometimes up to about 80%). In practice, fewer measures were adopted, therefore achieving the set target, even if all the reduction measures in the national plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are taken, is expected to result in only partial realization (a benefit of 50 billion NIS instead of about 217 billion NIS, less than a quarter) of the environmental and economic potential inherent in the implementation of these measures. Also, Government Resolution 542 from 2015 regarding Israel's goals for reducing emissions, and the national plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 2016 that was formulated as a result, do not mandate the internalization of the economic costs of greenhouse gas emissions, either through a carbon tax or in some other way.
Per capita emissions and the absolute amount of emissions: In the years 2015-2020 there was an increase in Israel's absolute emissions. For example, in 2018 there was an increase of 2.3 and in 2019 an increase of 0.3 million tons of CO2eq compared to emissions in 2015. Regarding the per capita emissions data - the value of 8.5 tons of CO2020eq emissions per capita as of 2015 reflects a decrease compared to 2025 and compliance with the target set for 2012 thanks to the trend of reducing the use of coal that began in 2020. However, the report of the steering and monitoring committee regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions led by the Ministry of Housing and Natural Resources stated regarding the year 2020 that following the corona crisis there was a significant decrease in economic activity in the economy, and that "the corona crisis had a contribution to the level of emissions the relatively low in 10". This is according to the report as a result, among other things, of a decrease in fuel consumption for transportation (approximately 2019% reduction in consumption compared to 1.4), a decrease in electricity consumption in the economy (approximately 2019% reduction in consumption compared to XNUMX) and a decrease in economic consumption.
The degree of progress in achieving the sectoral goals: Progress in achieving all sectoral goals ranges from "behind" to zero.
Various guidelines in government decisions 542 of 2015 and 1403 of 2016 in areas such as: additional economic tools for the recommendations of the Green Taxation Committee; Mechanisms to encourage energy efficiency in government offices; encouraging public transportation; barriers to establishing renewable energy facilities; and using the electricity bills as a clearinghouse), which included both budgetary and regulatory aspects - have not been carried out since the decisions were made. Therefore, the Israeli government's sectoral goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions were not achieved. The same goes for goals:
- The target of reducing private travel by 20% in Government Resolution 542 of 2015: private travel increased from 42 billion km in 2015 to approximately 50 billion km in 2019. According to the annual monitoring report of the Ministry of Health and Welfare from May 2021 "the government is not It is expected to meet the goal for the transportation sector of reducing private travel." Also, the Ministry of Transportation did not prepare an individual plan to reduce private travel as required by Government Resolution 1403 from 2016 on the matter.
- The 20% energy efficiency goal in Government Resolution 4095 from 2008: Israel did not meet the goals it set for itself for 2020, and in practice the energy efficiency was about 62% less than the set goal. Also, of the 800 million NIS allocated in government decisions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through efficiency, at least 500 million NIS were not used.
- Electricity production target from renewable energies: Israel did not meet the target of 10% that it set for itself in Government Resolution 4450 from 2009 to 2020 (in practice - a rate of 35% - 40% less than the set target), and the progress towards achieving the target of 17% renewable energies for 2030 is little (in particular against the emerging target of 30%), and reached only 2020% as of the end of 6.1.
Investment in infrastructure: According to the OECD, from approximately 1997 the investment in infrastructure in Israel was lower than the average investment in the OECD countries. As of 2016, infrastructure investment in Israel is estimated at about 2% of GDP, while the OECD average is about 3.4% - 3.5% of GDP (about 75% more than Israel).
Aspects of formulating sectoral GAZ reduction targets for Israel
Formulating Israel's strategy for transitioning to a low-carbon economy by 2050: In the process of transitioning to a low-carbon economy 2050 led by the Ministry of Energy, delays were found in the formulation of goals mainly in the field of energy due to the lack of agreement regarding the goals between the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Energy. As a result, the integration phase of all parts of the economy in the process was delayed, and as of June 2021, Israel has not yet presented a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as expected in the Paris Agreement.
The characteristics of the climate treatment: Multiplicity of legislative and administrative powers, conflict between objectives of government ministries and a built-in gap between responsibility and authority create inherent difficulty in promoting the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In a situation of conflict or the potential for conflict between the central goals of the government ministries and the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the ministries prioritize the promotion of the goals that are at the core of their ministerial responsibilities over reducing emissions (except in the ministry of GHG). The result is a push over the years of the climate crisis and of the emission reduction targets in the ministerial priorities in favor of other targets - in the phase of formulating the targets, during their budgeting and on the way to achieving them.
the energy sector
The new target for renewable energies for 2030 compared to the OECD countries and other countries: Surveyed countries, including the OECD countries, present updated targets for renewable energy for 2030 that range from 40% to 100%, while Israel presents a new target of 30% - the lowest of the OECD countries which, according to the Paris Agreement, are supposed to present targets with absolute and ambitious values and lead the global carbon reset (decarbonization) process. Setting targets that will increase investment in fossil energy infrastructures by 2030 could jeopardize the process of transitioning to a low-carbon economy by 2050.
Sharing the government's decision 465 regarding a target of 30% for renewable energy for 2030: The decision on issues such as the extent of the areas available for PV facilities (open and dual), technological maturity of electricity storage from PV facilities and cost-benefit analyzes on the basis of which the decision of the Minister of Energy was adopted (which was recorded as Government Resolution 465 of 2020 according to which "the government records before it the decision of the Minister of Energy on the principles of the policy according to by the year 2030, 30% of electricity production will be from renewable energy") were carried out by the Ministry of Energy and the Electricity Authority, without the prior participation of government ministries and other relevant parties (such as the Israel Land Authority [RAMI], the Planning Administration at the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Construction and Housing, and the Ministry of Public Works s) as decisive factors. Also, the Electricity Authority's inspection was limited to the feasibility of a rate of 30% renewable energies; It did not examine the full potential for reducing GAZ for 2030 and did not include the implications of technological improvements that are expected to affect this potential in the coming years.
Formulation of goals for the year 2050 for the energy sector: The Government of Israel formulated Government Resolution 171 from the year 2021, a GHG emissions target for the energy sector, which indicates a policy of transition to a low-carbon economy and not zero carbon as planned by many OECD countries. The Ministry of Energy did not set a target for renewable energies for 2050 due to the barriers it listed and due to the uncertainty in setting long-term targets. The ministry set an emissions reduction target for the energy sector, but did not specify in the roadmap it published in 2021 for public comments and in the ministry's policy documents how it intends to achieve it without ambitious targets for renewable energies and without mature alternative technologies or technologies in use (such as CCS technologies for capturing carbon, nuclear, hydrogen and future technologies) , nor how he intends to act to promote the use of the said alternative technologies or act to remove the barriers mentioned in his documents.
The scenarios presented by the Ministry of Energy show that it believes that full implementation of the 85% emissions reduction target is achieved through electricity production at a rate of 54% to 90% from renewable energy, which is a wide range that gives it flexibility. The ministry did not propose this range of renewable energies as a sub-goal to the overarching goal of reducing emissions. Leaving a 70% natural gas energy mix after 2030 without setting renewable energy targets for 2050 lays a foundation for planning, development and investments for the continued development of the gas economy in Israel, and may harm a future transition to a low-carbon economy.
Cost estimates for the transition to a low-carbon economy: A cost estimate carried out revealed that in each of the years 2030, 2040, 2050, the non-solar technologies biased scenario (such as carbon capture) is the most expensive, while the solar energy biased scenario in 2050 - the relevant target year for the transition to a low carbon economy strategy - has the lowest costs among All scenarios and is estimated at approximately 49.2 billion NIS, compared to the non-solar technologies biased scenario which is estimated at approximately 56.9 billion NIS. The Ministry of Energy did not re-examine the scenarios, even though from the data it was possible to conclude that there is no economic feasibility for a technology-biased scenario, and that the focus should be on the solar scenario, which has a wide range of flexibility in itself (with a rate of up to 90% renewable energies) and to examine the ways to implement it. Also, the estimates of the implementation of the various scenarios were not presented in the road map for the energy economy 2050, which was published for public comments in April 2021.
The policy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions against the production of fossil fuels: The promotion of fossil fuel production does not align with the government's stated policy, for more than a decade, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants. While the government is promoting the fight against climate change and for clean air, it is also promoting a policy of "exploiting the potential" of resources that is required to adapt to the national effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
the transportation sector
Electric vehicles: As of 2020, the rate of electric vehicles in Israel is 0.05% of all vehicles, and actions to increase their rate are at the beginning. Following the global corona epidemic, the Ministry of Energy decided to postpone the goal set in 2019 - to ban the import of vehicles with internal combustion engines starting in 2030 - for another five years (until 2035), even though it did not show that other countries acted in a similar way.
The GAZ reduction plan for the transportation sector: Significant parts of the plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector promoted by the ministries of transportation, gas and energy remain recommendations or proposals for taking actions and policy tools, and the Ministry of Transportation has not yet formulated a detailed plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from this sector that integrates with the other strategic plans of the Ministry of Transportation. Also, the connection between each measure, and how much its adoption will contribute to reducing GAZ, was not clarified. Examples of recommendations (that have not yet been adopted or budgeted for) are for example increasing investment in public transportation infrastructure and in particular in mass transit systems; A tailored policy package for parking management; The pricing of the road trip according to the type of vehicle; closing streets to traffic and creating infrastructure to encourage cycling and walking; A national program to encourage remote work, studies and shopping.
Barriers: There are barriers to the implementation of the measures set by the ministries, and their removal requires the involvement of many governmental ministries and units (including RMI, the Planning Administration, the Ministry of the Interior and the local authorities). Examples of barriers are the lack of an efficient charging infrastructure for electric vehicles; Difficulty in installing charging points in condominiums for legal reasons; Lack of sufficient knowledge in the area of charging in local authorities; and the lack of a plan to encourage the use of public transportation.
Israel's goals formulated for resetting energy in new buildings: Most of the countries surveyed stated that residential buildings will be required to perform an energy reset by 2020, and in Israel such an obligation is expected to apply from 2025 and in a very partial manner. For example, buildings taller than five stories, which are expected to be about 80% of residential buildings, and industrial buildings are not included in the energy reset obligation at all. The plan does not include new goals for 2050, with the exception of commercial buildings. Also, a plan for the implementation of the goals for resetting the energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the buildings sector and the mechanism that will work to achieve them have not yet been formulated.
Energy efficiency in existing buildings: No goals have been set for charging energy efficiency in existing buildings, which in 2050 (according to the Ministry of Energy) are expected to be about 50% of all buildings.
The waste sector
Objectives in the field of waste: The Ministry of Environmental Protection did not set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the waste sector within the framework of Government Resolution 542 (following the Paris Agreement) and even though the treatment regarding the reduction of the volume of waste and the optimal method of handling it were found, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection's strategy document on the subject, missing.
Positively, it was noted that the amount of emissions per capita is mainly in a downward trend (a discontinuous decrease from about 10.7 tons CO2eq per capita in 2000 to about 8.8 tons CO2eq per capita in 2018). The value as of 2020 reflects a decrease compared to the value in 2015 and meeting the target set for 2025.
Yes, it was positively noted that from 2012 the energy production sector in Israel switched from coal-biased electricity production to reduced coal and gas-biased production (as the main source) - from 2012 to 2018 there was a decrease in the use of coal for electricity production at a rate of 29%, and in the years 2018 to 2020 there was a decrease of more 4% This resulted in a decrease in pollutant emissions into the air and a certain decrease in carbon emissions. This reduction is the main factor in reducing CO2 emissions per capita. Continued implementation of this policy will lead to an estimated reduction of approximately 9 million tons of GAZ by 2025 and of approximately 17 million tons of GAZ by 2030.
State Comptroller Engelman He noted that although there was a decrease in per capita emissions, there was an increase in Israel's absolute emissions. As for all the sectoral goals set in 2015, the progress in achieving them ranges from "behind" to zero. It is recommended that there be a government effort in resolving the issues that have arisen and in leading Israel towards a low-carbon or even zero-carbon economy.
For all parts of the review on the science website:
- Introduction: Israel's progress in dealing with the climate crisis is negative to zero
- Chapter 1: Mitigation - the action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are not carried out in Israel
- Chapter 2: Adaptation - the national preparation for adapting to climate change is lacking
- Chapter 3: Economic and financial aspects of the climate crisis; Market failure
- Chapter 4: Lack of organizational, functional and professional preparation for handling the climate crisis
