The Development of Israeli Policy to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions - Environment

* Please scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a video featuring the workshop hosted by Ben Gurion University and the Heinrich Boell Stiftung

Soon after Gilad Ardan took over as Minister of Environmental Protection he set establishing an ambitious climate change policy for Israel among his highest priorities.  Since the inception of the Framework Convention for Climate Change's introduction in 1992 and the subsequent 1996 Kyoto Protocol, Israel has retained its status as a "non-Annex 1" developing country. The implications are that it is not required to control green house gas emissions, but only take periodic inventories of emissions. Ironically, as a developing country, Israel has actually been able to make money on some projects when "wealthy" Annex 1 countries paid Israeli entrepreneurs to undertake projects that reduce emissions.  For many years environmental organizations have argued that this position was morally bankrupt and practically unwise as Israel would eventually have to make significant cutbacks commensurate accepted levels in the West given its desire to join the OECD. Ardan adopted this view and pressed for a meaningful mitigation policy for green house gas emissions before the convening of the U.N. Copenhagen Conference of the Parties in December, 2009.

There are enormous economic implications associated with transforming industrial , transportation, construction and energy practices nationally into a "low carbon" economy".  There exist an almost unlimited number of possible strategies to reduce GHG emissions. As it appeared that there was no insitution locally in Israel who had the experience and expertise required to design a comprehensive national program for green house gas reductions in the very short time-frame available before Copenhagen, it was decided to seek technical support internationally.  For a considerable sum, the task was farmed out to McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm which had acquired considerable experience through its Climate Change Special Initiative. The consultants were requested  "to map Israel's greenhouse gas mitigation potential by technological means and the attendant costs." 

McKinsey was instructed to prepare the report in consultation with a wide circle of professionals from government ministries, green organizations and the private sector. Yet, as time pressures began to increase, the level of collaboration and communication necessarily was reduced.

McKinsey prepared a greenhouse gas cost curve for Israel. This "cost curve" is designed to suggest the most cost-effective modifications in Israel's economy in order to attain an environmentally responsible emissions level.   The results of the study were published in November 2009. Among its main findings were:

1. If business as usual continues, Israel's emissions are expected to double by 2030, from 71 MtCO2e in 2005 to 142 MtCO2e in 2030. This growth is primarily due to Israel's high growth in population and GDP per capita.

2. Israel can reduce its expected emissions growth by two-thirds by adopting the technical emission measures identified in the study. McKinsey's analysis suggests an abatement potential of 45 MtCO2e if all examined technical abatement measures are applied, corresponding to about 32% of total business as usual emissions.

3. A set of behavioral changes, including reduced use of lighting, increased use of public transport, increased use of bicycles, increased average building temperature and reduce meat consumption, could achieve further abatement of approximately 7MtCO2e.

4. Most of the abatement measures fall into two categories - low carbon energy sources (e.g., shift from fossil fuels to renewable for power generation, shift from coal to gas in power generation and shift from fossil fuels to biofuels in the transportation sector) and improved energy efficiency (e.g., more efficient light bulbs, improved vehicle fuel consumption and more efficient electrical appliances).

5. Implementing the 10 measures with the largest abatement potential would capture 65% of the total abatement potential.

Although there were dissenting voices in the government, and significant dissatisfaction at the less than ambitious objectives set, the report was immediately adopted by the Ministry of Environment and presented to the Prime Minister, who voiced general support. Even as no formal governmental decision was made prior to Copenhagen, the McKinsey report has become de facto Israeli national policy.  It became clear at the Copenhagen meeting that the McKinsey report was inconsistent with the ambitious emissions reductions being discussed and which had already been adopted in other European countries. Israeli environmental community is faced with the question: how is it that other countries are planning to reduce emissions by 30% by 2030 when Israel is planning to increase it? Is the Israeli situation so entirely different?  And how will Israel fare internationally if we adopt a McKinsey strategy that will leave us with perhaps the highest per capita green house gas emissions rate in the world?

Unfortunately, given the pressing time table prior to the Copenhagen meeting, the McKinsey report was never reviewed thoroughly by an independent panel of international experts.  Israel's environmental community was very uncomfortable with the results and acceptance of substantial increases in emissions, (which ran counter to the international trends of substantial decreases). But there was neither the time, nor a professional framework with the experience necessary to consider whether the McKinsey projections were indeed the "best" that Israel could do.  No one compared the McKinsey approach to that existing in other, more ambitious countries.

The Institute for Desert Environmental Research at Ben Gurion University's Sde Boker campus together with the Heinrich Boell Stiftung’s Israel office agreed to host a workshop in May which allowed for an objective, international, peer review of the McKinsey / Israeli greenhouse gas mitigation policy. Three top international experts were recruited for the workshop - Bracken Hendricks is a senior fellow with the Center for American Progress. He works at the interface of global warming solutions and economic development. He is a longtime leader in promoting policies that create green jobs, sustainable infrastructure, and investment in cities. Malte Schneider works as senior researcher and post-doctorate at Prof. Hoffman’s Chair for Sustainability and Technology at the Department of Management, Technology, and Economics of ETH Zurich. And Joe Kruger is the Policy Director at the National Commission on Energy Policy. He also served as the Deputy Associate Director for Energy and Climate Change at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. An impressive group of leading academics, environmental leaders from civil society, top officials from the Ministry for Environmental Protection and business leaders from Israel were invited and participated in the day of multi-sector learning and dialogue. The next day, the international experts were invited by the Knesset Environment/Health Sub-Committee to present their findings and recommendations. The experts are currently working on a policy document that will be presented by the Knesset Sub-Committee Chair to Prime Minister Netanyahu. If adapted, Israel will be able to step into a leadership position and act as a “game changer” on climate change not only here but elsewhere in the world as well.

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