The government on Sunday approved its first climate bill in what Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg said represented a "dramatic stage" in the climate change battle.
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The draft legislation seeks to commit Israel's government to cut global warming emissions by at least 27% by the decade's end, and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
The bill, which the Ministerial Committee for Legislation backed unanimously, now goes to the Knesset floor for final approval.
"History! A critical step for our future and for Israel's prosperity over time. Israel joins the developed countries and is advancing a dramatic stage in the fight against the climate crisis," Zandberg tweeted following the bill's approval.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had announced the net-zero emissions goal ahead of participating in the United Nations COP26 in Glasgow last year.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who also pushed for the bill, tweeted, "We promised and we delivered."
Tamara Lev, director of climate policy at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel said that while she welcomed the move, the targets were not ambitious enough.
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The bill sets out the legal framework for creating, budgeting, implementing, and reporting plans to reduce emissions and prepare for the effects of climate change, which are expected to be felt severely in the Middle East.
Hailing the legislation as a "historic moment," Zandberg said that anchoring the goals of emission cuts would provide certainty for Israel's economy, allowing it to develop innovative, smart, and clean growth.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
