Israel aims for 85% less carbon dioxide emissions by 2050

Goals include reduction of the vast majority of emissions in the transport sector, in the energy sector and in urban waste. Premier Bennett: decision that goes in the direction of a "clean, efficient and competitive economy". Environmentalists and critics call for even more ambitious targets, especially for renewables. 

Jerusalem (AsiaNews/Agencies) - By 2050  Israel intends to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 85% compared to the levels produced in 2015. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett made teh announcement stating the decision will help the country to "gradually move to a low-carbon economy. 

The objectives include the reduction of the vast majority of emissions in the transport sector, in the energy sector and in urban waste. However, environmentalists and critical voices are not satisfied and call for even more ambitious targets for renewables and additional economic incentives to encourage change among the population. 

The Israeli government's decision comes amidst a critical environmen tal backdrop. Since the beginning of the industrial era, in fact, the planet has already warmed by about 1.2 ° C and temperatures will continue to rise in the near future, unless nations around the world commit to a policy of drastic reduction of emissions. 

Prime Minister Bennett stressed that Israel's decision goes in the direction of a "clean, efficient and competitive economy," which will put the country at the forefront of the global battle against climate change. The parameters set by the Jewish state are in line with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by nearly 200 countries around the world. 

Last week, Greenpeace Israel recalled the decision of an inter-ministerial committee linked to the Energy Ministry (Udì Adiri), which commissioned a program to encourage new oil and gas exploration in the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone. And it defined as "scandalous" the reference to the climate crisis as a "limited window of opportunity" for the sale of gas. The same NGO turns to the government, recalling that "the climate emergency leaves no room for a hesitant policy" and forces a choice: be part of the problem or participate in the solution. 

The plan signed in the French capital pursues the objective of limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial period, aiming at a maximum increase in temperature of 1.5 degrees Celsius. Israel is among the signatory nations of the Paris Climate Agreement, whose intermediate target is to reduce emissions by at least 27% by 2030. Former U.S. President Donald Trump had withdrawn the U.S. from the agreement; successor and current White House tenant Joe Biden has rejoined the agreement, stressing the importance of "green" policies for the sustainable future of the planet. 

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