What's the problem?
Environmental policy in Israel is characterized by a division of responsibilities, a lack of long-term planning, and a persistent gap between decisions and implementation. There is still no binding and funded climate law, and there is no comprehensive national system in place that centralizes information, maps risks, and informs the preparedness of the government and local authorities.
This lack of preparedness and management does not only harm the environment. It endangers human lives and health, increases the economic damage from extreme events, and harms energy security, infrastructure, employment, and quality of life.
Meanwhile, the climate crisis is exacerbating heat waves, fires, and floods. Trash burning in Judea and Samaria is impacting hundreds of thousands of residents along the Seam Line. Old coal-fired power plants continue to operate. And most of Israel’s waste is still being landfilled. At the same time, the Dead Sea, the Gulf of Eilat, and our beaches, streams, ecological corridors, and biodiversity are under increasing pressure.
What's the solution?
B’Yachad, we will enact a binding and funded climate law that will anchor targets by sector and establish a national system for managing climate risks. This system will centralize information, map risks and vulnerabilities, promote early warning, and coordinate the preparations of government ministries, local authorities, government companies, and infrastructure authorities.
We will enact an advanced waste disposal law and establish an authority for the waste management sector. This law will create a funded waste management sector from end to end, which will create incentives to reduce how much waste goes into landfills as well as promote recycling and advanced treatment. At the same time, the waste management authority will lead a funded program to prevent trash burning in Judea and Samaria, in cooperation with the Civil Administration and the Palestinian Authority. We will accelerate the moving away of the petrochemical industry from Haifa Bay and stop the ongoing operation of old and polluting units 1-4 at Orot Rabin in Hadera.
We will return the “no added risk” policy in the Gulf of Eilat, protect Israel’s coasts, arrange the new concession plan for the Dead Sea so that it reduces environmental damage and requires the repair of past damage, anchor the protection of our ecological corridors, restore streams and advance a national plan to preserve biodiversity. Alongside this, we will enact the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Law and promote efficient and accessible public transportation.
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premature deaths in Israel were attributed to air pollution from all sources in 2023.
of trash in Israel still is buried in landfills.
is the estimated annual cost of congestion on our roads.
How will we know we've succeeded?
The readiness test
Operating a national climate risk management system - all ministries and local authorities will have funded and actionable preparedness plans.
The waste disposal test
Most waste in Israel will no longer end up in landfills, and illegal waste burning in Judea and Samaria will be eradicated through infrastructure, prevention, and enforcement.
The air quality and energy test
The ongoing operation of coal-fired units 1–4 at Orot Rabin will cease, air quality will improve, and the transition to renewable energy and energy storage will accelerate.
The nature test
Protecting ecological corridors will be anchored, streams will be restored, new nature reserves and national parks will be created, and effective protection of the Gulf of Eilat, the coasts of Israel, the Dead Sea, and biodiversity will be ensured.
The quality of life test
The moving of the petrochemical industry away from Haifa Bay will be advanced with binding timetables, and metropolitan transportation authorities will be established to promote efficient, accessible, and reliable public transportation.
Key elements of our environmental protection plan
01
Climate Law and the Establishment of a National Climate Risk Management System: B’Yachad, we’ll enact a binding and funded climate law that will regulate the preparedness of the government, local authorities, government companies and infrastructure authorities to deal with the climate crisis and extreme weather events including fires, droughts, floods, heat and cold waves, and sea level rise. As part of this law, a national climate risk management system will be established that will centralize information and data, map risks and vulnerability, operate early warning systems, and support decision-making and early preparedness at the national and local levels. In addition, this law will enshrine targets by sector and implement plans in the fields of energy, transportation, and industry and construction. These will include expanding the use of renewable energy, reducing private vehicle travel, and promoting energy efficiency.
02
Protecting the Dead Sea: B’Yachad, we will ensure that the new concession plan for the Dead Sea protects both the public and environmental interest: the concession area will be significantly reduced, the concession holder will be required to address and repair past environmental damage, and a fee will be charged for pumping water to reduce this as much as possible. At the same time, we will promote long-term solutions to deal with the decline in water levels at the Dead Sea.
03
Waste sector reform and the elimination of trash burning along the Seam Line: B’Yachad will enact an advanced waste disposal law that will set binding targets in accordance with the accepted treatment hierarchy in OECD countries: reduction at the source, reuse, recycling, recovery and only as a last resort – landfilling. This reform will create a funded waste sector from end to end, ensure regulatory and economic certainty and enable the establishment and operation of advanced sorting, recycling and treatment facilities. As part of this reform, an authority for the waste sector will be established that will regulate pricing and financing mechanisms and monitor fees. This in accordance with national policies and objectives and in cooperation with local governments.
At the same time, B’Yachad will work to eliminate trash fires in Judea and Samaria that harm the health of hundreds of thousands of residents along the Seam Line. The waste management agency will lead a funded and coordinated national program, while the Civil Administration will be the implementation and enforcement arm on the ground. This program will accelerate the construction of treatment facilities, work with the Palestinian Authority to ensure regulated waste collection and treatment, and strengthen enforcement against pirate sites and illegal waste transfers from Israel. In addition, monitoring and supervision will be expanded, and technological solutions will be promoted to prevent fires at the source and not just extinguish them after they have broken out.
04
Evacuation of polluting factories from Haifa Bay: B’Yachad, we will accelerate the moving of the petrochemical industry away from Haifa Bay, alongside promoting plans to develop the metropolis as a clean, green and prosperous area with housing for young couples and thousands of jobs in advanced technology.
05
The cessation of using coal for electricity generation: We will bring about an end to the ongoing operation of the old and polluting units 1-4 at the Orot Rabin power plant in Hadera, where advanced measures to reduce emissions have not been installed. Their ongoing operation was supposed to cease as early as June 2022, in accordance with the government’s decision from 2018, but the implementation of this decision has been repeatedly postponed. B’Yachad, we will work to gradually implement that decision and limit the exceptional circumstances operating permits to be for defined emergency situations only, all while maintaining the reliability of the electricity supply. At the same time, we will accelerate the transition to renewable energy, energy storage, and cleaner production sources. A recent government study estimated that in 2023, 5,510 premature deaths were caused in Israel as a result of exposure to fine respiratory particles from all sources. The cessation of the ongoing use of the old coal-fired units is a necessary step to protect public health and promote a cleaner, more efficient and safer electricity market.
06
Protecting the Gulf of Eilat and Israel’s coasts: We will restore the “zero added risk” policy for the Gulf of Eilat which was established during the Bennett government. This protects the Gulf’s unique ecological value, the residents of Eilat and the tourism industry and the sea – these being the main sources of livelihood for the city’s residents and the drivers of the city’s prosperity. We will work to protect Israel’s coasts as a natural and public resource that belongs to us all.
07
Nature as infrastructure for national resilience: B’Yachad, we will preserve open space and ecological continuity as well as statutorily anchor our national ecological corridors. We will increase the supply of housing primarily through urban renewal while reducing construction in open spaces and we will promote the establishment of new nature reserves and national parks. Alongside this, we will implement a funded national plan for the restoration of streams, advance legislation to prevent oil pollution at sea, and approve a national plan to preserve biodiversity – all this to protect Israeli nature and preserve it for future generations.
We will improve public transportation in Israel by enacting the Metropolitan Transportation Authorities Law. This will make public transportation efficient and accessible. It will also operate on weekends in local authorities that choose to do so.
