On the occasion of the climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh – a new climate plan on behalf of Prime Minister Yair Lapid was approved today (Sunday) by the Israeli government. As part of the program, all government ministries must submit action plans by the end of 2023, which will define how the ministries will prepare for the climate crisis.
We note that the purpose of the decision, led by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, is to impose the obligation of formulating a climate crisis preparedness plan on all government ministries, which will be submitted by the end of 2023. This is in continuation of the government decision “Israel’s Preparedness to Adapt to Climate Change” from July 2018.
In the new decision, the government stated that by the end of 2023, all government ministries must write and submit preparedness plans for climate change. The plans will be written in accordance with reference scenarios for climate change prepared by the National Emergency Authority and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, as well as the prioritization and analysis of climate trends conducted by the Climate Change Preparedness Administration led by the Ministry of Environmental Protection.
“Storms these days are leaving destruction and many dead around the world”
“With proper handling and early assessment, the climate crisis brings us extraordinary opportunities – not just a stubborn struggle, but prosperity and the march of Israel’s economy forward into a new world,” said Lapid, adding that ahead of the UN climate conference, “we are making another important step forward In the preparation of the government ministries for the climate crisis, while setting a deadline for the submission of a preparation plan that will require all the relevant ministries to present to the government progress in the implementation of the action plans, once a year.”
Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg claimed: “We see the damage of the climate crisis – the most serious crisis facing humanity today – in the daily lives of all of us. Storms these days leave destruction and many dead around the world, and they will worsen and appear more often, as a result of the climate crisis Early preparation at the national level is critical to saving human life and the environment – and the step we took today is a significant step towards Israel’s readiness to deal with the damages and changes brought about by the climate crisis.”
“Preparing for the effects of the climate crisis is intended to protect the public”
The announcement of the Ministry of Environmental Protection states: “The preparation for the effects arising from the climate crisis and its damages, is intended to protect the public, its health and well-being from the consequences of the climate crisis and the expected changes and those that are already occurring. The effects are already being revealed all over the world in the form of extreme emergency events, such as an increase in the frequency of forest fires, floods and inundations, and will worsen as the earth continues to warm.”
The Ministry’s announcement also states: “The National Emergency Authority began preparing reference scenarios for climate change in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and published the first reference scenario on the subject of floods in 2022. In the coming years, additional reference scenarios are expected to be published that will help the various government bodies prepare for the expected climate events in our regions, including – waves Heat, fires and snows and extreme cold.”
“It is about too little and too soft a step”
The Society for the Protection of Nature stated: “The climate crisis is one of the most burning global problems these days and therefore, the Society for the Protection of Nature welcomes any decision that is intended to promote action and activity in this area.”
“At the same time, it is too little and too soft a step – the decision does not include budgets and binding mechanisms and thus it is a continuation of previous decisions, most of which were not implemented and does not bring any real news.
It would have been appropriate, just a few days before the UN climate conference, for the government to present actions, and not just plans for the future, to present implementation and realization, and not just statements and repetition, of what has already happened. Unfortunately, for man and nature, we don’t have another year to wait for headquarters work , action is needed here and now.”