Environment and Sustainability

The First National Green Growth Conference in Israel was held at the end of February 2012, with notable speakers including Prime Minister Netanyahu, a parade of major cabinet ministers, Bank of Israel Governor Fischer and others. The long day ended with an inter-sectorial roundtable meeting on Green Growth. Are we (finally) on the Green Brick Road? And what can we do to get there?

Germany’s decision to phase out nuclear power after Fukushima has been criticized as it would lead to rising emissions and a shortage of power supply. A fact check proves these claims to be wrong. Today renewable energies provide more than a fifth of electricity demand in Germany. The country is on track to surpass its ambitious climate targets and even exports electricity to Europe’s nuclear power house France.

Industry in Israel must understand that internalizing social and environmental considerations will improve not only the future for all of us, but also its own financial sustainability. Naor Yerushalmi, Director of Life & Environment posits that the business community should become global market leaders in environmental innovation. This article first appeared in Hebrew in The Marker on February 7, 2012.

As the UN climate conference convenes in Durban, South Africa, Maya Givon, Coordiantor of the Paths to Sustainability NGO Coalition, says that our ability to deal successfully with the unprecedented challenge of climate change is connected to our ability to transition to a greener, more sustainable economy that will significantly augment mitigation efforts. The summit in Durban is an opportunity for leaders worldwide to answer this call, by removing political barriers and allowing a continuation of joint global effort to halt climate change.

This article examines how German environmental policymaking over the last 40 years transformed Europe’s economic engine into the international driver of green growth.

With Israel asking itself some deep questions about the directions it should go in embodied in the recent protest movement, the Green Movement just released the first draft of a new economic plan for Israel. Based on the Green New Deals that emerged from green think tanks and political parties from around the world, the Economics of Tomorrow suggests a new model for government intervention that promotes economic development while preserving ecological resources and social democratic values. Alon Tal And Racheli Tedhar Kener, chairpersons of the Green Movement, offer a unique perspective, linking the economic plan with the currrent surge of protests for social justice in Israel.

On the road to ecological modernity, prosperity is possible without having to destroy the basis of our livelihood.

The Heinrich Boell Foundation has published a report, "Toward a Transatlantic Green New Deal: Tackling the Climate and Economic Crises". The report, which was prepared by the Worldwatch Institute for HBS, is part of a new paradigm for an integrated approach to the climate and economic crises in order to create sustainable economic progress into the future. Read the introduction and download the complete publication»

The Israel office of the Heinrich Boell Stiftung published a Hebrew translation of the book, Myths About Nuclear Energy: How the Energy Lobby is Pulling the Wool Over Our Eyes originally published in German as part of a HBS series on ecology. In addition to the translation, HBS Israel commissioned Dr. Shahar Dolev from the Israel Energy Forum to write a preface and summary in order to provide background and context to the Hebrew speaking audience on nuclear energy and the current discourse in Israel. The book debunks seven commonly held myths on nuclear energy including issues of safety, atomic waste disposal, climate protection among others. Click here to read the foreword and to download the publication»