Israel isn't likely to meet its long-term carbon-emission objectives after the so-called climate bill wasn't brought before the Ministerial Committee for Legislation this week due to "time constraints."
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Regardless, Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg vowed: "It was decided that this important and urgent issue will be presented at the next meeting, and that time will be dedicated for a deep discussion. All government ministries are on board with the agreements that will facilitate the ratification of this historic law, and we will legislate it by the end of the [Knesset's] summer session."
However, it now appears that even if the law is passed by the end of the summer session, Israel will still fail to meet its goal of cutting its greenhouse gases by 27% by 2030. What's also certain is that the Russian invasion of Ukraine and consequent destabilization of the world security and energy order – which has seen oil prices soar beyond the $100 per barrel threshold – means there's now a good chance that things will get even worse and that many countries across the globe will find themselves lacking energy capabilities and any ability to provide electricity and gas for cars and industry. This is a snowball that could bankrupt countries and cause widespread, devastating collapse.
In 2020, 6.7% of Israel's electricity came from renewable energy sources – against its stated goal of 10%. At the current rate, the country is on course to produce 20% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030 – against its goal of 27%.
"From work with experts in the [renewable energy] field and companies that operate in Israel and also with European Union countries, we see that what's possible to achieve in one year [elsewhere], in Israel the same process takes four years," explained attorney Moshe Abekasis, who specializes in transactions in the field of renewable solar energy, with an emphasis on the application of agricultural land.
"In Israel," Abekasis continued, "despite its desire to meet its objectives, there's actually over-regulation and not always congruence between the government echelon and its declarations and the actions being taken by the other planning and regulatory authorities."
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