About a year after a major oil spill polluted Israel's coastline, the Environmental Protection Ministry received a warning on a massive oil spill making its way to our shores. An urgent aerial and naval scan soon debunked the suspicion and the incident ended up being good practice of the emergency alert apparatus, but in reality, another significant oil spill off Israel's coast is only a matter of time and we are not ready for it.
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About 3,000 oil tankers pass through Israel or in Israel's territorial waters each year. Gas and oil explorations in the eastern Mediterranean are increasing, as is the intent to expand the scope of the Trans-Israel pipeline in the Gulf of Eilat and Ashkelon tenfold following the Red-Med consortium agreement.
The implementation of the latter has been suspended Environmental due to the Environmental Protection Ministry's reservations over its impact on the ecosystem in Eilat, but it remains to be seen whether the government will adopt this position as well.
This raises the concern that when a political opportunity arises, we may see the agreement materialized and the arrival of dozens of additional tankers every year to Trans-Israel terminals in Ashkelon and Eilat; all while posing a long-term threat to Eilat's unique coral reef, the ecosystems of the Mediterranean, fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, the residents' health, and the supply of 75% of the desalinated drinking water Israel produces from the Mediterranean.
A report by a panel of experts recently published by the Israeli Association of Ecology and Environmental Sciences recommends shelving the Med-Red EPA agreement because the harm it will inflict will outweigh any economic benefits it may bring.
Currently, Israel is grossly ill-prepared for dealing with major oil spills. In order to be prepared, the Knesset and the government must immediately promote the National Contingency Plan for Combating Oil Pollution, as this legislation would allow for the budgeting and allocation of standards, equipment and vessels for this purpose.
Resources should also be allocated for research and development in the fields of monitoring the movement of oil slicks on the ocean surface, which are the result of spills from ships, oil and gas platforms, and the development of active barriers that will prevent oil from penetrating desalination facilities and shutting them down.
To reduce the risk to marine ecosystems we must prepare, monitor, and enforce, but also act resolutely to reduce the use of fossil fuels and move quickly to renewable energies, electric transport, smarter consumption, and a circular economy that will reduce the demand for these polluting fuels and the need to transport them.
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