Israel's government on Sunday authorized a plan valued at nearly $877 million to boost innovation and technology-focused on climate change.
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The initiative followed the completion of a report by an inter-ministerial team – led by Israel's Science and Technology, Environmental Protection, and Energy ministries, alongside the Innovation Authority.
Science and Innovation Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen said the main focus of Israel's tech sector was on communications, finance, and cyber, with less of a priority on climate tech, according to The Times of Israel.
Outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has previously said that developing climate tech – an umbrella term that includes clean energy, transportation, water treatment, food manufacturing, and waste reduction projects – is the best way to contribute globally to mitigating the climate crisis.
The Israeli nonprofit innovation community PLANETech reported in December that climate tech companies in the Jewish state attracted more than $2.2 billion in investments in 2021 – 57% more than the year prior.
However, the interministerial report found that investors are less willing to put their money into climate initiatives because they pose too high of risks compared to the long-term return of profits.
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Findings showed that the main areas of growth were energy, sustainable transportation, advanced industrial production, and water management.
Fields in which Israeli climate tech already has a global impact, though, include cultured meat and alternative proteins, irrigation systems, precision agriculture, desalination, water management, sustainable transportation, and solar energy.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
