The Green Globe will be awarded in a festive ceremony on Environment Day in the Knesset - 7.6.16 and this time with an emphasis on dealing with the climate crisis following the Paris COP21 conference
The Green Globe Awards ceremony will be held on Tuesday, June 7.6.16, 13, A. Sivan 100. The Green Globe Awards are being awarded for the 8th year in a row, and the ceremony is considered the main annual event of the environmental organizations. This is the third time the ceremony will be held as part of Environment Day in the Knesset. The ceremony is led by 'Haim and Environment' - the umbrella organization of environmental organizations in Israel, which includes about XNUMX organizations from all over the country. At the ceremony, awards will be given in XNUMX categories of excellence in activities for the environment, and one black globe, to a person whose impact on the environment is particularly great. During the day, many events will be held in and around the Knesset (more on that in a separate announcement). The events and signals are focused this year on dealing with the climate crisis that threatens countries all over the world, including Israel and its residents. At the climate conference in Paris, the lines of action to deal with the crisis were outlined, "Haim and Environment" chooses to award on this day signals of excellence and signals of neglect to those whose actions or omissions will determine whether Israel will be part of the solution or part of the problem.
The winners of the "Green Globe" awards for 2015 are:
The "Green Globe" award for the environmental achievement of the year was given to the members of the Gas Struggle headquarters - the headquarters is a coalition of organizations and social activists that was established in 2012 and works to protect the public's rights to gas as a national resource. The headquarters led the understanding that natural gas is the property of the entire public in Israel, and made it its goal to see to it that the natural treasure advances Israeli society as a whole, lowers the cost of living and enables energy independence. The headquarters rallied a broad coalition of environmental, social and economic organizations for joint activity, created a public discourse and raised the issue of the gas economy to the top of the public agenda. The headquarters was able to integrate diverse public actions: research, lobbying, field activity, communication, harnessing the community and new media. Thanks to public pressure, the government decided on a 13% reduction in the volume of natural gas exports (40% instead of 53%), saving about NIS 130 billion to the national financial balance.
Later, the headquarters fought against the monopoly in the gas market, a resistance that reached its peak in the refusal of the Antitrust Commissioner to approve the settlement agreement with the gas companies. The struggle turned the gas outline into an issue that must be taken into account when forming the government - never before had a public struggle reached such a status in the civil discourse. After the outline was approved, petitions were submitted to the High Court, and recently its judges announced that the state must fix it. Today, the members of the headquarters are working on continuing to expose the distortions in the gas industry in Israel, and on delineating an alternative policy, based on the public's right to benefit from the gas resource, through the development of a gas-based industry, the conversion of the transportation sector to gas-based fuels and a transition to the use of renewable and clean energy, which will significantly reduce carbon emissions and pollution the air and will lead to energy independence. The headquarters of the struggle promotes in this activity civic, social and environmental values and a vision according to which the State of Israel can become a model for the wise use of natural resources, for society and the environment, with full transparency and consideration for future generations. The organizations that are members of the Gas Struggle Headquarters as of today: We, the Social Guard, the Israel Energy Forum, the Legal Forum for Israel, the Association for a Sustainable Economy, Green Now, Israel 2050, Israel Dear Us, Green Trend, Social Justice - The Situation Room, Clear, and active and many activities.
The "Green Globe" badge for urban sustainability ("Green in the City") is awarded to the 15th Forum - the Independent Cities Forum, chaired by the Mayor of Tel Aviv-Yafo Ron Huldai and managed by Attorney Eitan Atia. The forum has been leading a revolution in the field of urban sustainability for the past eight years. Nearly 3 million residents live in the Forum cities, which make up about 40% of Israel's population, and they serve about 90% of the country's population on a daily basis. The forum reveals an extraordinary understanding of the environmental challenge. The members of the forum did not hesitate to make brave decisions, and to use the capabilities of the independent cities to lead an environmental agenda, primarily the fight against climate change. In 2008, 18 mayors signed the "Convention of the 15th Forum for Air Pollution Reduction and Climate Protection", which is an Israeli version of the international convention of the ICLEI organization for local sustainability. Since then, the municipalities have been working in a variety of arenas to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants.
In this framework, surveys of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in the cities were conducted and for the first time urban master plans were written to reduce emissions, and an extensive data base was even established on the sources of emissions in the cities. After it was found that the majority of greenhouse gas emissions in cities originate from energy consumption in buildings, the forum devoted special emphasis to the promotion of green construction, and in June 2013 the plenum of mayors of the 15th forum decided to adopt the Israeli standard for green construction as a binding urban policy. This decision was a significant step that put the Forum cities on a par with the leading cities in the world, which promote green construction as part of a broad concept of progressive urbanism, and provide their residents with a high-quality, resource-efficient living, leisure and employment environment.
The "Green Globe" badge for green activism is awarded this year to two major struggles: the struggle for the preservation of the Jerusalem mountains and the struggle for air quality and life in Haifa Bay:
The ongoing struggle to strengthen Jerusalem within and to preserve the natural assets and landscape in the Jerusalem mountains has accompanied the environmental movement for the past two decades. The struggle experienced a difficult turn with the rise of the housing crisis and the establishment of new and predatory planning institutions, in which public representation is decreasing. In the past year, the subject has experienced difficult moments in the bitter struggle to preserve an open observatory, and on the other hand, it has achieved significant achievements that must be preserved for the future. These achievements would not have been possible without the cooperation between the local government and civil society, including environmental organizations. The "Alliance for Strengthening Jerusalem and Protecting the Mountains Around It", the Municipality of Jerusalem, the local council of Mbasheret Zion and the association "Ramot for the Environment" have jointly and separately led to impressive planning achievements and a renewed public debate on the issue.
Worthy of special mention is the firm and resolute stand of the Mayor of Jerusalem, Mr. Nir Barkat, and the head of the Mevsaret Zion Council, Mr. Yoram Shimon. Barkat and the professionals in the municipality acted resolutely on the planning, legal and public level to repel the initiative to remove the statutory protection from the Jerusalem Mountains area, and worked to return the leadership of local planning to the local government. Yoram Shimon actually led the action in front of ministers and Knesset members. The alliance to strengthen Jerusalem and protect the mountains around it worked to pool the common resources for the benefit of as significant achievements as possible. Civil society is also represented in these struggles by local action committees of residents. Such are the representatives of Ramot for the environment who have been working for years to protect Mitzpe Naftuh, the most important natural site in Jerusalem. By mobilizing over 10,000 objections, the residents backed up the intense public struggle, which is taking place these days, and the call to keep the home of the Israeli deer in an open Mitzvah and to establish an urban nature park instead.
Many partners were also mobilized for the fight for air quality and life in the Haifa Bay, for an authentic civil organization that brought the sad story of Haifa and the Kerios to the public agenda. The most polluted area in Israel suffered not only from the highest rate of cancer and respiratory diseases in the country, but also from the neglect of the establishment and the authorities. Although many studies in the last 30 years show that the petrochemical industry is the main cause of excess morbidity of cancer, lung and heart diseases in the Haifa Bay, these days 3 statutory programs are being promoted to expand the polluting industry.
Into this vacuum came groups of residents, organizations and individuals, who work voluntarily and energetically to change the policy, and do not hesitate to face authorities that close their doors and leaders who bury their heads in the sand. The Green Front of the environmental and civil society organizations in the Gulf includes: Green Trend, Mothers and Fathers for Haifa and the Kerios, the Israeli Forum for Protecting the Beaches, ALS - Citizens for the Environment, the OMT movement, the Greens of Haifa, the Coalition for Public Health, the Human and Environment Forum , Adam Teva and Law and Life in Haifa, Ezra Forum, Zlul. The groups are working, together and separately, against the expansion of the petrochemical industry in the Haifa Bay, including changing the plan for the expansion of refineries, the plan for the establishment of a new petrochemical complex "The North Lands" and the plan for the establishment of a private fuel port, which is supposed to support the expansion of the industry, at the expense of the Kiryat beaches and the metropolitan park in Kishon. The groups operate both on the activist level, including demonstrations, petitions, home circles, debates in the Knesset, in the Supreme Court and appeals; and on the professional level with the aim of outlining alternatives based on studies, position papers, lectures, local initiatives and joint studies with academia. In this activity, they brought the Haifa reality to the national agenda and forced the decision makers in Israel to provide appropriate solutions to the extreme situations in Haifa.
The "Green Globe" award for a public figure is awarded to Mittal Lehbi, an environmental and social activist since 1997, a member of the city council and the chairman of the Meretz faction in Tel Aviv-Yafo since 2003. Lehbi works to promote the values of democracy, equality and strengthening disadvantaged populations, and for a quality and healthy environment: one of the founders of the forum The green in Tel Aviv, as chairman of a neighborhood committee led to the diversion of bus traffic from Grozenberg Street, fought to increase the scope of green and public areas in Florentine together with the residents of the neighborhood and with the organization "South for the People" led to the transformation of Shalavim axis into an urban street, led objections to the construction of towers in the heart of the city and as chairman The faction included the planning and implementation of Kiryat Safar Park as a condition in a coalition agreement - a project that is a model for a public participation procedure. Today, as the deputy mayor in charge of the transportation, construction and infrastructure portfolio, she promotes the discourse of a city as a sustaining, accessible and equal space for residents and the streets are meant for people who are the urban oxygen artery. In her view, the residents are not "customers" of the municipality, but partners in the design of the space and environment. In her work, Lehavi combines a social agenda to reduce the cost of living and provide quality service to the residents in combination with her concept of reducing air pollution. The main goal before her eyes is to reduce the use of private vehicles and to switch to sustainable or public means of transportation (24/7). The array of service taxis and an initiative to change the payslip that will allow employees to convert the benefit for car maintenance in favor of "getting to work green".
The "Green Globe" award for the field of energy is awarded to Joseph Abramowitz, whose achievements in the field of renewable energy are transcontinental and extraordinary. Abramowitz is a kind of modern prophet who carries the solar gospel and also a pioneer who implements the gospel and spreads it around the world from his seat in Israel. Since his immigration to Israel, over a decade ago, Abramowitz has worked tirelessly to promote solar energy. Starting with the establishment of Araba Power, the first commercial solar field in Israel, through President Obama's "Electricity for Africa" initiative, within the framework of which he initiated the establishment of solar fields in Rwanda, the first of which already provides the country with an 8% increase in electricity, and ending with the solar field that was inaugurated about two weeks ago in the USA. As a human rights activist for decades, Abramowitz combines aspects of social justice with environmental aspects. Within the framework of "Arava Power" he led cooperation with Bedouin families in the Negev, he promotes the issue of solar energy among Bedouins, Palestinians and is involved in a series of solar projects in the Middle East and Africa. In general, he even advised some of the Arab countries on the subject. Abramowitz participated
In Israel's delegation to the climate conference in Paris and announced by CNN as "one of the six most significant green pioneers in the world", in Israel he won numerous awards and recognitions for being a leading social entrepreneur.
The "Green Globe" label for the business sector was given to Greeneye, headed by the founder and CEO, Nega Levzion Nandan. Greeneye is a groundbreaking economic-environmental-social business, which promotes the field of responsible investments in Israel - economic investments that also consider social-environmental issues. Greeneye is a partner of Vigeo Eiris, a multinational research company in the field of responsible investments, and together with it performs evaluations of business companies for investors in Israel and abroad. Greeneye's assessments of how business companies are dealing with the climate crisis are used by financial institutions, banks, pension funds and individual investors in investment decision-making processes. This activity of Greeneye has become a fundamental factor affecting the willingness of companies to deal with the environmental-social effects of their activities. Moreover, Greeneye's research shows a clear connection between more responsible conduct of companies and higher returns. Greenay's activity also brings a change in the public discourse, with more and more investors requesting that their money, including pension money, be invested in a responsible manner. At the same time, Greeneye advises government offices, local authorities and non-governmental organizations in building economically-environmentally-socially responsible policies, and in developing measurement, transparency and monitoring tools. Greeneye, together with the Ministry of the Environment, led the publication of the environmental impact rating of commercial companies in Israel; was one of the motivations of commercial companies for reporting to the CDP; And its employees serve as analysts and consultants for higher ranking in environmental fields.
The "Green Globe" badge for an environmental volunteer was awarded to Danit Klein-Guata and Hassan Joussi, environmental activists who live side by side in the settlements of Sha'er Efraim and Kalansawa, in the Sharon area - Southern Triangle. Together they are leading an extraordinary environmental struggle in its quality, courage and persistence. After for many decades the landfills became "part of the landscape" in the Southern Triangle area, Danit and Hassan led a fight against unregulated waste sites, pirate incinerators, and for clean air in an area suffering from severe air pollution. This partnership stands out against the background of alienation and the lack of cooperation between nearby communities, Jews and Arabs, in the shared space, which is rife with hazards and environmental crime, and against the background of the lack of hands of the authorities and the government. The residents of Kalanseva, Taiba and Sha'er Ephraim work together to promote sustainable solutions to the problem of heavy air pollution in the area, to regulate waste sites in the area, and to increase awareness of the health aspects of air pollution. They work with senior officials in the government ministries, report on a regular basis to the police and fire brigades, and alongside an intense struggle with the authorities at the various levels, they also promote education initiatives and community involvement, in a way that encourages good neighborly relations between the sectors. In the last four years, joint environmental events have been held, starting with World Environment Day, through a march and setting up a protest tent, and ending with outreach activities. Danit and Hassan combine in their voluntary activity a deep personal commitment and work tirelessly with the understanding that only a joint struggle of neighbors, Arabs and Jews, can lead to a solution to the situation in their environment.
The "Green Globe" award for lifetime achievement is awarded to Professor Danny Rabinowitz, head of the Porter School of Environmental Studies, at Tel Aviv University. Rabinowitz, professor of anthropology, has served since October 2013 as head of the Porter School of Environmental Studies. In addition, Prof. Rabinowitz engages in extensive and many years of voluntary activity within civil society organizations, and maintains extensive relationships with environmental associations in Israel and around the world. Since 2010, he has served as the chairman of the Association for Environmental Justice in Israel and leads the "Climate Justice Research and Policy in Israel" project, which has received international recognition. In the past, he served in a variety of voluntary roles, including chairman of 'Life and Environment', the umbrella organization of environmental organizations in Israel (2006 - 2008); Chairman of "Greenpeace" Mediterranean (2004-1999); Deputy Chairman of Greenpeace UK (2012-2004) and President of the Israeli Anthropological Association. Prof. Rabinowitz is considered the most knowledgeable and eloquent speaker in Israel on the climate crisis and global warming, and one of the leading experts in policy studies in the fields of climate and society in Israel and the world. Prof. Rabinowitz worked extensively to raise the issue of climate on the Israeli agenda through a series of scientific publications, articles and interviews in the media, debates in the Knesset, and academic and public conferences. Before the Copenhagen Conference in 2009, he launched the influential blog "Homo Combustance", in which he analyzed the chances of achieving a global climate agreement, an agreement that was finally reached at the Paris Conference in 2015. In doing so, he made climate science accessible in its various aspects - political, economic and social - to a wide and diverse public. His book "Here it comes - how we will survive the climate crisis" is an in-depth theoretical analysis of the climate crisis that illustrates in eloquent language how global warming will affect the daily life of each and every one of us.
The "Black Globe" badge, a derogatory mark awarded to a factor that contributes to damage to the environment, public health or the general public and environmental interest, is awarded this year to the Ministry of National Infrastructures, Energy and Water for its continuous failure in managing the energy sector, and in particular for the continuous denial of the environmental and health problems that the use of coal for electricity generation causes. The Ministry of Energy continues to adhere to an outdated approach that does not consider the social, health and environmental consequences of the existing conduct pattern.
At the Paris conference in December 2015, the countries of the world pledged to take bold and ambitious steps to stop global warming at only one and a half degrees. Israel joined the international commitment and undertook to present within a year a comprehensive plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to a green and environmentally friendly energy economy. The Ministry of Energy was supposed to be the pioneer boldly leading the Israeli energy economy to realize the state's obligations, to reduce emissions and to create alternatives for a healthy and prosperous future for all citizens. However, in fact, the ministry insists on preserving the status quo, preserving the current fuel mix, opposes reducing the use of coal, and decentralizing electricity production, and is weak in its support for alternative energies. This is when electricity production accounts for over half of Israel's greenhouse gas emissions. in Israel, and the two coal-fired power plants, Hadera and Ashkelon, are responsible for about 56% of the total electricity production in Israel and for the emission of most of the greenhouse gases. The emissions of the coal plants directly and immediately affect the health of the residents and workers near them. The burning of coal and oil in the process of generating electricity in the power plants releases into the atmosphere large amounts of sulfur and nitrogen oxides that have been recognized as the cause of respiratory diseases and cancer. 80% of the air pollution in Israel comes from these stations and results in the death of over fifty people a year. This is the very disturbing truth, and despite this data, the Minister of Energy opposed the reduction of the use of coal in the power plants last year, and refused to make a decision on the gradual closure of the two coal-fired power plants. The Ministry of Energy has failed in creating an alternative vision for the energy sector, insists on preserving the status quo, preserving the current fuel mix, opposing the reduction of coal use, opposing the decentralization of electricity production, and continuing to delay the implementation of renewable energy sources to the required extent, even in accordance with the government's modest goals from the outset. The black globe was given to the ministry as a warning signal: this is the year to muster public courage and vision and lead a process of breaking free from dependence on polluting and non-renewable energy, correcting the policy, recognizing its critical role in shaping Israel's energy and climate future and its position among the countries of the world.
The Green Globe events are organized with the support of the German Embassy in Israel, their association and the Tabiv company
