Sue Surkes is the environmental reporter for The Times of Israel.
Just days before the UN climate convention COP27 begins in Egypt, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Monday that it had not officially anchored the verbal pledge made a year later by then-Prime Minister Naftali Bennett that Israel would succeed online. Zero emissions until 2050.
Bennett made this commitment a year ago, just before COP26 in Glasgow, along with Energy Minister Karine Elharrar. He told those around him that the promise would have to be made faster or later anyway.
But at a Ministry of Environmental Protection briefing on Monday for those heading to COP27 at Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh hotel, Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg revealed that the Justice Ministry had spoken out against adopting a government resolution on such a factor. so close to the elections. Next week.
Previous attempts this year to secure the net zero commitment included in the weather bill also failed, largely due to opposition from the Ministry of Finance.
The bill passed its first reading in May, but only commits Israel to reducing its emissions by 85% by 2050, to a 2015 baseline.
Net 0 refers to a scenario in which a country reduces its emissions as much as can be imagined and offsets what remains to be emitted. This can be achieved by investing in projects that decrease emissions or sequester (absorb) carbon dioxide from the air and use it in industry or turn it into a form that can be buried for a long time.
The 2015 Paris Agreement commits all signatories, including Israel, to achieving carbon neutrality of emissions in the current part of the twenty-first century. So far, 137 countries have made some form of commitment.
Denmark, France, Hungary, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom are the countries that have anchored by law a net commitment of 0, with Sweden setting 2045 as the target year and the others 2050.
The European Union, Canada and South Korea are in the process of legislating.
In addition, 24 countries have explained net 0 as official policy, adding Brazil, China, Germany and the United States, some of the largest emitters. Another 99 nations are under discussion.
While Israel has an emissions target for 2050, it still has a target for the amount of renewable energy to be deployed during this year.
It has promised that 30% of energy will come from renewable resources such as the sun by the end of this decade, but has met its target of 10% by 2020.
Currently, 8. 5% of Israel’s energy comes from renewable energy.
The Finance Ministry has withheld proposals for a carbon tax.
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