Ahead of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's upcoming trip to Glasgow to attend the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, the government approved plans to encourage climate innovation and the development of technologies for bringing down greenhouse gas levels and prepare for climate change.
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Through the plan, approved by Bennett, Energy Minister Karine Elharrar, and Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg, follows government moves to shift to a low-emission economy and the imposition of national goals to cut greenhouse gases by 2030 and again by 2050.
The goal is to encourage research and development of technologies with the ability to assist in global efforts against climate change, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation in fields such as energy, food, agriculture, and water. Some of these technologies are unique to Israel due to the country's desert climate.
In the first stage of the plan, a task force for accelerating climate technologies, to be headed by the Prime Minister's Office director-general in collaboration with the Finance Ministry's chief accountant and the attorney general will be established. The task force will work to remove red tape impeding research, development, and implementation of relevant technologies in public infrastructure and organizations.
In the second stage, the Prime Minister's Office director-general will act to create a mechanism to encourage investment in the research and development of technologies aimed at fighting the climate crisis. This will include collaborations through research funds and binational funds and the consolidation of budgetary resources, in coordination with the various government ministries.
Ministers from the Energy; Environmental Protection; Innovation, Science and Technology; Finance; Industry; and Agriculture Ministries will work to establish a conference for climate change innovation and technology, with the participation of the prime minister as well as senior government representatives and representatives from the private sector, academia, and third-sector organizations.
One year from its establishment, the team will present its work and recommended steps for public bodies to take to promote the implementation of technologies to reduce greenhouse emissions and take on climate change to the public.
Ahead of a government meeting Sunday, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, "The climate crisis is one of the central issues on the global agenda, and rightfully so. It touches all of our lives,' as well as the lives of our children and our grandchildren. It's in our souls. We are required to do this here in Israel as well, at all levels and across all ministries.
"The government will today approve a number of decisions, among them the promotion of clean and low-carbon transportation, energy efficiency, and emission reduction, the encouragement of technological innovation, and framework acceleration. There is another series of actions we are examining, and we will announce them later on when they are ready."
In a statement, Elharrar said: "The time has come to enlist Israeli creativity and innovation in the State of Israel's fight against the climate crisis. For years, Israeli start-up companies have been at the forefront of global activity in a variety of fields. This decision is aimed at removing red tape, advancing groundbreaking projects, and making it easier for entrepreneurs in the green energy field. I thank the prime minister for his commitment to advancing the issue and I am confident his experience and love for innovation will succeed in promoting the important goal of encouraging innovation in the green energy fields …."
Zandberg said: "Israel is home to advanced start-up companies and leading research centers, and Israeli climate innovation is already a global leader in some fields. This is an opportunity for us not only to accelerate the innovation economy and Israeli technology but to play an outsized, central role in solutions on both the regional and global level."
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