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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The Jewish National Fund of Canada has announced the launch of an annual $1 million contest in an effort to foster innovative solutions to the threat of global climate change and position Israel as a world hub for climate solutions.

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JNF Canada calls the initiative is especially urgent in light of the United Nations report published last week that stated that Earth was dangerously close to runaway warning.

"If there is any hope of reversing, or even reducing, the disastrous effects of global warming, it surely rests in human ingenuity," JNF Canada said in a statement.

"As a global solution hub for technological innovation, Israel is a natural gateway in the search."

Every year, the prize committee will select one to four Israeli recipients with the most promising solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions or increasing carbon capture. The winners will receive an award from the $1 million fund co-sponsored by the Jewish National Fund of Israel (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael) in collaboration with Start-Up Nation Central and the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation. The finalists' solutions will be showcased in a permanent exhibit at the Peres Center's Israeli Innovation Center in Jaffa.

"It has become clear that climate change is the biggest challenge of our time," Executive Chair of the Climate Solutions Prize Jeff Hart said. "If temperatures continue to rise, all we have worked so hard to build may be at risk due to increased flooding, forest fires, and drought. As Jewish people committed to Tikkun Olam – repairing the world – we created the Climate Solutions Prize to galvanize Israel, known as the startup nation, to develop breakthrough solutions to help solve the climate crisis, and even turn it into an opportunity."

Chairman of the Jewish National Fund of Israel Avraham Duvdevani said that he considered enlisting Israeli innovation to the battle against global warming as a matter of national importance.

"Throughout its 120 years of existence, KKL has been a leader in environmental action, and we are proud to be taking part in writing the next chapter in the history of sustainability in Israel," he said, pledging that the "KKL will aid the project by offering up its rich experience in the field and its finest professionals."

Applications will be accepted starting fall 2021 with the winners announced at a June 2022 ceremony in conjunction with a planned week-long Climate Innovation Festival in Israel, showcasing Israeli and global sustainability innovation. A separate track for Israeli startups offering technological solutions to battle climate change is also being run by Start-Up Nation Central.

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The government on Monday approved the nation's first carbon tax, which is expected to cover about 80% of local greenhouse gas emissions by 2028.

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The pollution pricing plan to address climate change is slated to take effect in 2023 and slowly increase until 2028, charging companies that emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from coal, liquefied petroleum gas, fuel oil, petroleum coke and gas.

A government statement announcing the moves explained that carbon taxation "is intended to correct a market failure, which arises when the polluting factor does not pay for the damage caused as a result of greenhouse gas emissions.

"Carbon pricing is considered the most effective and efficient way to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and create certainty in the markets," the statement continued.

Israel has set an ambitious climate target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 85% by 2050 compared to 2015 levels and an immediate target of a 27% emissions reduction by 2030.

In a recent phone conversation with Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry praised Israel's climate and renewable energy targets.

This article was first published by i24NEWS

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Israeli slaughter-free meat production startup Future Meat Technologies has opened the world's first industrial cultured meat facility in the city of Rehovot, home to the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Faculty of Agriculture, the company announced Wednesday.

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With the capability to produce 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of cultured products a day, equivalent to 5,000 hamburgers, this facility makes scalable cell-based meat production a reality.

"This facility opening marks a huge step in Future Meat Technologies' path to market, serving as a critical enabler to bring our products to shelves by 2022," says Rom Kshuk, CEO of Future Meat Technologies. "Having a running industrial line accelerates key processes such as regulation and product development."

Currently, the facility can produce cultured chicken, pork and lamb, without the use of animal serum or genetic modification (non-GMO) with the production of beef coming soon. Future Meat Technologies' unique platform enables fast production cycles, about 20 times faster than traditional animal agriculture.

Professor Yaakov Nahmias, founder and chief scientific officer of Future Meat Technologies, explains that "After demonstrating that cultured meat can reach cost parity faster than the market anticipated, this production facility is the real game-changer."

"This facility demonstrates our proprietary media rejuvenation technology in scale, allowing us to reach production densities 10-times higher than the industrial standard. Our goal is to make cultured meat affordable for everyone, while ensuring we produce delicious food that is both healthy and sustainable, helping to secure the future of coming generations," Nahmias says.

Future Meat's cruelty-free production process is expected to generate 80% less greenhouse emissions and use 99% less land and 96% less freshwater than traditional meat production.

Future Meat Technologies aims to reach shelves in the United States in 2022 and is currently in the process of approving its production facility with regulatory agencies in multiple territories. The company is eyeing several locations in the United States for its projected expansion.

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Despite important actions Israel has taken, it is far from being one of the world's most developed countries, a new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published this week has determined.

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The report notes that even prior to the COVID pandemic, Israel's per capita productivity and GDP were some 30% lower than those in the OECD's outstanding countries. The report cited a higher rate of inequality in Israel than in other developed countries, and said that a significant part of Israel's children did not complete school with skills that would help them in the job market.

The OECD praised Israel's government for funneling more money into education, although said the additional budget did not "translate" into better achievement because the structure of the school system had not changed.

According to the authors of the report, the COVID pandemic poses "long-term challenges" to Israel, particularly in the form of extensive poverty – notably among Arab Israelis and Haredi Jews – and a growing gap between Israel's "vibrant" high-tech sector and the traditional economy.

The report notes that prior to COVID, Israel's per capita GDP was 28% lower than that of the strongest member nations in the OECD (not the OECD average), whereas per capita productivity was 35% lower than that of the strongest OECCD nations. Israel's employment rate was considered average and had not changed significantly since the start of the pandemic, the report aid.

Israel also spends considerably less on job training than other developed nations – 8% compared to up to 20% -- the report said.

The report assigned Israel an overall "inequality score" of 34.8, compared to a median score of 30.3 in the OECD. In OECD rankings, the lowest level of inequality is ranked at 23, and third-world nations rank at 45.3 for inequality.

Israel's public transportation system lagged "significantly" behind most OECD nations even prior to the COVID pandemic, the report said, creating some of the worst traffic congestion in the organization. The report cited lack of efficient public transportation infrastructure as one reason why 75% of Israeli citizens live with highly polluted air.

On a slightly more positive note, the report noted that Israel released less greenhouse gas than the OECD average, and praised the new commuter train line between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, as well as the construction of a light rail system for the greater Tel Aviv area and other transportation infrastructure projects.

The organization recommended that Israel promote public transportation and establish transportation authority that would liaise between the government and local authorities.

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In the first such long-term plan aimed at cutting Israel's greenhouse gases, the Energy Ministry has published its goals for bringing down greenhouse emissions by 80% by 2050.

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Among the targets set out by the ministry are the shuttering of all of Israel's coal stations by 2025, cutting emissions in the electric sector by between 75% and 85% by 2050, and an annual 1.3% improvement in energy intensity indicators that measure the energy required per unit output or activity.

The Energy Ministry is also leading the effort to transition to a low-emission economy that relies on electric transportation. The ministry expects the plan to result in a 92% decrease in emissions from the electric sector by 2030.

Within the framework of its membership in the Organization of Economic Organization and Development, Israel has committed to cutting its greenhouse gases 30% by 2030.

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz called the plan, which he said would see Israel surpass the goals set by the Paris climate accord, a "knockout punch to air pollution."

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Ministry announced it was working to advance legislation to increase energy efficiency, expand the use of renewable energy, better prepare for the effects of climate change, and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The proposed legislation sets a target of cutting emissions by 27% by 2030, in the hope of cutting annual emissions by 85% by 2050.

The ministry has also proposed an advisory committee to assist in the formulation of a national action plan that would be updated every five years and monitor its implementation. It further proposed an independent committee of experts is formed to ensure open dialogue on the subject.

In the coming days, the ministry will publish the draft climate law for review by the public and relevant government officials.

Environmental Protection Minister Gila Gamliel said that "with the help of the climate law, we are protecting the public, its health, and its welfare, and future generations in particular, from the consequences of the climate crisis."

Amit Bracha, executive director of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense, which is working with the ministry to advance the legislation, said: "We are on the path to bringing Israel into the list of … countries that are preparing to deal with the climate crisis. An Israeli climate law is a necessary legacy we must leave our children."

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Israel has a new energy efficiency goal: a new plan from the Energy Ministry, presented Monday, has set a target of reducing carbon emissions by 7.5% by 2030.

The ministry also recommended an interim goal of improved energy efficiency by 11% by 2025, compared to 2015 (which would work out to an average 1.2% improvement per year), and an 18% improvement in energy efficiency by 2030 compared to 2015.

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"The new goal links energy consumption to the amount of products and services in the country," the Energy Ministry explained in a statement.

"It is appropriate for Israel, where the population growth rate and economic growth are among the highest in OECD nations. In addition, these criteria allow us to compare ourselves to other countries," the ministry said.

"Implementing these policy steps are expected to reduce consumption of some 6 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, which account for about 7.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions [projected for] Israel in 2030. This is in addition to implementing the government's decision to transition to 0% renewable energy sources by 2030.

The plan to cut Israel's carbon emissions also calls to stop sales of polluting cars starting in 2030 through the establishment of a viable infrastructure for electric vehicles.

According to Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, "The global climate crisis demands that we make major changes in our living habits, especially the ways in which we produce and consume energy. Through groundbreaking plans, we not only reduce the rise in energy demand, we also make Israel into a nexus of development and implementation of advanced technologies and methods that will allow Israeli companies to break into new markets all over the world."

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