Following UN Report, Israeli MK Declares ‘Climatic State of Emergency’

By: Aryeh Savir

Israel must declare a climatic state of emergency and define climate disasters as a strategic threat, Minister of Environmental Protection Tamar Zandberg stated, following the new UN report on climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, released Monday, warned that “many of the changes observed in the climate are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and some of the changes already set in motion—such as continued sea-level rise—are irreversible over hundreds to thousands of years.”

The report provides new estimates of the chances of crossing the global warming level of 1.5°C in the next decades, and finds that unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach.

“Climate change is already affecting every region on Earth, in multiple ways. The changes we experience will increase with additional warming,” said IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair Panmao Zhai.

Climate change is also bringing multiple different changes in different regions, which will all increase with further warming, the report warns. These include changes to wetness and dryness, to winds, snow and ice, coastal areas and oceans.

However, strong and sustained reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases would limit climate change.

Zandberg stated in response that the report “leaves no room for doubt: it is no longer possible to deny the intensity and urgency of the climate crisis, nor its connection to human activity.”

“Israel has begun to take necessary actions, but it is imperative to declare a climatic state of emergency, define climate disasters as a strategic threat on the threat map and prepare accordingly,” she stated.

Israel has a plan to reduce its carbon footprint and to complete a successful transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy by 2050, and by 2025, Israel will no longer be burning coal.

In solar energy, over the last five years, Israel has increased its generation from 2% to about 10%.

Earlier this month, the government announced that Israel will align itself with the world’s developed countries who are leading the fight against the climate crisis and have agreed to the imposition of fees on the carbon dioxide emitted from fuels and other sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

            (TPS)