The cabinet on Sunday approved the creation of a ministerial environmental and climate committee, which will be chaired by the Minister for Environmental Protection Idit Silman.
Silman said the committee would help coordinate work across ministries to ensure Israel’s climate policies are appropriate and properly implemented, especially in the context of recent United Nations reports and in the run-up to the next United Nations climate conference in Dubai at the end of the year.
Silman said the committee was a step on the way for the government to pass a climate law.
The committee will include representation from the ministries of National Missions; National Security; Energy and Infrastructure; Transport and Road Safety; Agriculture and Rural Development; Economy and Industry; Inside; Construction and Housing; Health; and Science, Technology and Innovation.
The environmental advocacy organization Adam Teva V’Din, which was involved in the formation of a climate bill, said that the new committee must be anchored in a climate law that forces the government to act on certain issues.
Otherwise, it would act as a “fig leaf” and be like many of the government decisions passed on environmental and climate issues, but never implemented.
The organization requested that the ministerial committee be placed in the Prime Minister’s Office, and that the Ministry of Defense be included, given the security implications of climate change.
Adam Teva V’Din argues that the Ministry of Social Equality should also have a seat to ensure that the committee meets the needs of poorer populations who are disproportionately affected by climate change.
