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The Association of Environmental Justice in Israel (AEJI)
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climate justice

AEJI – Climate Research and Policy Decades of Climate Research 2009 – 2020

  |  Monday, 15-Jun-2020

AEJI – Climate Research and Policy Decades of Climate Research 2009 – 2020   List of Publications position papers, research reports, policy proposal, conferences and events on climate policy in Israel  
list_aeji_climate_policy_docs_and_events_2020.pdf

Decade of Climate Justice - 2009- 2020

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International Call to Address Inequalities and Social Justice in Climate Policy

Carmit Lubanov, Dr. Roberto Guimaraes, Dr. Kavya Michael,Dr. Richard Osaliya, Dr. Deborah S. Rogers, Bhola Bhattarai,Daniela Antons, Dr. Daniel Mathews   |  Monday, 09-Nov-2015
- International Call to Address Inequalities and Social Justice in Climate Policy

Preamble  Socioeconomic inequality is now understood to be integrally linked to the climate crisis. Inequalities drive climate change, and inequalities result from climate change. Climate change is an injustice to the underprivileged and aggravates inequality. Inequalities, both within and among nations, block agreements and pathways that could lead to sustainability. This vicious cycle of climate change and socioeconomic inequalities must be broken. As we engage in mitigation, adaptation, and the transition to a low-carbon economy, we must ensure that inequalities are substantially reduced.  I. Climate change affects people in very unequal ways, thus compounding inequalities.  Poor and marginalized people suffer the consequences of environmental degradation more directly and severely. Those most likely to bear the brunt of climate change are those who suffer from disadvantage or discrimination, whether on the basis of income, wealth, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, health, ability, legal or migration status, or other characteristics or identities. Inequalities are compounded when poor and marginalized people are forced to live in locations more severely impacted by climate change, and vulnerable to storms, flooding, drought, landslides, or other environmental impacts. Inequalities are compounded when poor communities do not have the resources to respond to disasters or adapt readily to climate change.  Women and girls are particularly impacted. Women and girls are more likely to care for children, the sick and the elderly, to prepare food, to fetch water, to work the soil. All of these activities become more difficult as the climate degenerates. Furthermore, when climate impacts destroy economic opportunities at home, women and girls are less able to travel safely to seek new opportunities.  Despite suffering more severe impacts from climate change, poor and marginalized people generate significantly less impact on the environment as measured by standardized metrics such as consumption or carbon output. This is true for both poorer nations and for poorer socioeconomic classes within countries. It is unethical that those who do less harm should suffer more.  People who lack the necessary economic resources, knowledge, and political clout are disempowered and unable to demand necessary changes. Often, despite enormous and sophisticated grassroots or civil society efforts, the power differentials between those who stand to benefit from environmentally damaging economic activity, and those who are affected by it, are simply too great to overcome.  A vicious cycle exists. People on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder experience environmental disparities which perpetuate and compound economic difficulties. Environmental disparities may produce debilitating health impacts; economic and human losses associated with weather disasters; loss of agricultural capacity; the need to travel long distances to obtain suitable water resources; and the erosion of critical ecosystem services for resource-dependent and rural agrarian communities. People who have lost access to environmental resources have fragile livelihoods, and are less able to respond to shocks and environmental stresses.    The ongoing immigration crisis is also linked to climate change. The poor are more vulnerable to climate impacts, such as loss of water and land resources or soil productivity, and especially vulnerable to resulting conflict. It is the poor who are forced to migrate in search of survival. At the same time, the poor are least able to undertake the risky journeys required, and least able to navigate complex systems of migration law which permit them access to a new place to live.  II. Inequality is a key driver of the climate crisis.  Inequality lies at the root of unsustainable behaviors. Inequality promotes overconsumption by making it socially acceptable for some people to have far more than others. Inequality provides incentives for overconsumption by tying consumption to social status. The greater the level of inequality, the greater the incentive to elevate one’s status through consumption. Current consumption patterns put excessive pressure on the planet’s dwindling resource base, as an elite minority unjustly appropriates ecological space. This excessive consumption usurps natural and economic resources, driving up prices for basic goods such as food, housing, healthcare and education, thus directly impacting those who do not have enough.  Our economic system drives the climate crisis, while locking in and aggravating inequalities. Its growth paradigm promotes ever-greater impacts on the environment; its short-term incentives and profit motives systematically contradict the sustainable satisfaction of human needs. Elites make decisions on behalf of their own interests rather than the public interest, while the benefits of development and climate adaptation aid and investment are often channeled to narrowly-held business interests. Financialization of the economy provides additional perverse incentives that run counter to sustainability. Commodification, both of nature and of people as labor, destroys emotional and social incentives that would otherwise serve to protect communities and their environments.Moreover, current economic pricing mechanisms fail to include “externalized” costs of social and environmental impacts. These distorted prices in turn distort consumption patterns, aggravating resource depletion and pollution. Meanwhile, the economic analysis of climate change focuses on aggregate costs and benefits, largely ignoring distributional implications.  III. Inequality blocks needed solutions to the climate crisis.  Finally, inequalities block progress toward solutions and agreements to address climate change. Overwhelmed with social crisis, breakdown and conflict caused by inequalities, communities and societies cannot turn their energy and resources towards climate-friendly technologies and the transition to environmental sustainability.  Socioeconomic inequalities allow aid, resources, and other benefits to be diverted to elite families and business concerns, often fossil-fuel based. Meanwhile, the general public, including especially the poor, are often left suffering the social, economic and environmental consequences of profitable but unsustainable development. Adding insult to injury, the public is often left holding huge sovereign debts, resulting in the reduction of urgently needed social benefits. As inequality grows, there are many more people who do not have the resources to implement the needed conversion to sustainable economic activities.  Socioeconomic inequalities often complicate the implementation of local sustainability mechanisms, such as Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES), Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest  Degradation (REDD), and similar schemes. When inequalities are ignored in assessing the effectiveness and desirability of specific policy tools, unintended consequences may result. Rich and poor are affected differently, leading to altered community relationships and patterns of wealth. It is then much harder to find equitable and effective incentives for reducing carbon impacts. Socioeconomic inequalities reduce cultural diversity by disempowering, displacing, or destroying the culture of various local groups. Embedded cultural knowledge, including indigenous knowledge, of local and traditional environmental practices is then diminished, thus depriving communities of potential models for more sustainable ways of life. Migration also leads to a loss of local environmental knowledge; moreover, migrants living in unfamiliar environments often lack the status and influence to push for needed environmental protections.  By creating lack of trust and social fragmentation, socioeconomic inequality blocks cooperation and collaborative problem-solving. Communities and nations are far less likely to make the necessary agreements to address climate change when they are aware that they do not share common interests, benefits, and responsibilities. Even if they were to make an agreement, the parties would not feel that the allocation of benefits and responsibilities was fair, thereby undermining cooperation.  Any initiative to address climate change and climate justice must place inequality at the center of the discussion. Current approaches to climate change have been largely technocratic in nature, and proposed “green economy” solutions which retain the same set of incentives and structures seem likely to worsen the existing scenario. Climate justice begins at the point where we recognize that current economic models, which generate ever-growing inequalities and look to more economic growth as a solution, will not provide transformative change. We cannot solve the climate crisis utilizing the same structures that created the crisis in the first place. Around the world, citizens sense the futility of “more of the same,” and governments are aware that they will face more protests andcivil disobedience if they do not demonstrate their political will for meaningful transition.  We call on the world’s governments, nations and communities to –  * Recognize the inequality dimensions of the climate crisis, including how inequalities contribute to climate change, as well as the injustice aspects of the climate crisis, particularly the fact that those who had the least role in precipitating the crisis are likely to be harmed the most; * Recognize that even with the most enlightened environmental policies in place, without social sustainability and social resilience, the societal foundations of sustainability will eventually erode away through instability, conflict and social breakdown; * Recognize that there will need to be new, more innovative, efficient and sustainable pathways to development, as the traditional fossil fuel-based route has failed humanity both socially and environmentally; * Recognize that, considering the tipping points ahead as well as the major destruction and misery caused among the poor everywhere, and particularly in the Global South, “business as usual” is no longer an option;  * Recognize the importance of common but differentiated responsibilities, whereby developed countries (synonymous with high emission countries) should have a moral and legal obligation to support developing countries in adapting to climate change, and all countries should support their own most vulnerable communities in adapting to climate change;  * Recognize that any budget of allowed greenhouse gas emissions must take into account the following four points: historical responsibility, equitable ecological footprint, capabilities (technological and financial), and state of development (purchasing power parity);  * Recognize the need for altered patterns of consumption, whereby those consuming in excess of what they need will reduce their consumption, while those without enough to meet their needs will consume more, achieving a net reduction;  * Recognize within-country differences in greenhouse gas emissions, as measured by the carbon inequality index, as well as within-country differences in the extent to which people’s needs are met;  * Commit to making the inequality and injustice dimensions of the climate crisis a central element of the COP 21 climate accords and subsequent policies;  * Commit to ensuring that the full benefits of climate protection, technology transfer and CDM programs are being channeled to the appropriate people and communities – not to enrich particular business interests and contractors; * Commit to ensuring a more equitable global distribution of wealth and resources, including the CO2 emissions budget, as well as the more equitable distribution of capacity to respond to risks;  * Commit to providing the economic resources, technologies, and expertise that will empower developing countries, and less privileged communities within countries, to protect themselves from climate impacts, to adapt to a changing climate as necessary, and to move successfully along a new, more innovative, efficient and sustainable development pathway;  * Commit to climate finance mechanisms that bridge the gaps in capacity between nations, and that empower marginalized communities to implement their own priorities in responding to climate change;  * Commit to developing and implementing an urgently-needed global resettlement plan to take in all refugees of conflict and economic collapse – which are due, in part, to the impacts of a worsening climate;  * Commit to fully respecting human rights throughout the process of responding to climate change, including but not limited to the fulfillment of various international conventions and declarations on human rights; * Commit to systemic social, economic and political changes towards more participatory societies in which incentives and decision-making processes allow citizens and communities to protect their own (and the world’s) long-term social and environmental interests rather than being at the mercy of short-term profit incentives and decision-making processes; * Commit to ensuring workers’ rights to a secure livelihood during the transition to non-fossil fuel based energies; * Commit to divesting from fossil fuel-based economic activity and redirecting such investment towards sustainable energy technologies; * Commit to greater transparency and democratization of decision-making processes, in which vulnerable communities most impacted by climate change are empowered to play a leading role in determining how best to achieve social resilience, mitigation and adaptation. _______________________________________________________________________________ Adopted 28 September 2015 by Initiative for Equality (IfE) through a formal decision of the Board of Directors and the Board of Advisors.  Members of the ad hoc committee drafting this statement include the following:    Carmit Lubanov, former IfE Advisor, and director of the Association of Environmental Justice in Israel (AEJI), which has made climate justice their main field of research and policy since 2010.    Dr. Roberto Guimaraes, IfE Director, and former Chief of Social and Policy Analysis at UN HQ in New York, during which position he authored the groundbreaking report “The Inequality Predicament – 2005 Report on the World Social Situation.”    Dr. Kavya Michael, IfE member, and author of the recent detailed study on “Class and climate change in post-reform India.”    Dr. Richard Osaliya, IfE Advisor, Eastern Africa Regional Coordinator for the Field Hearings, and ecological researcher in Kenya and Uganda.    Dr. Deborah S. Rogers, IfE President, Affiliated Researcher with Stanford University's Institute for Research in the Social Sciences, and author of 2012 book chapter "Socioeconomic Equity and Sustainability," which details the links between socioeconomic inequalities and environmental problems including climate change.    Bhola Bhattarai, IfE Advisor, Nepal Country Coordinator for the Field Hearings, and director of National Forum for Advocacy, Nepal (NAFAN), a civil society organization working for equity and sustainable society, for which he has followed the climate negotiations closely.    Daniela Antons, IfE Advisor, activist on climate, degrowth, and feminist issues in Germany, and co-author of the 2012 Planet Under Pressure white paper “A Vision for Human Well-being: Transition to Social Sustainability.”    Dr. Daniel Mathews, IfE Advisor, attorney at law, mathematics professor at Monash University in Melbourne, founding member of Wikileaks, and antiwar and inequalities activist.   Endorsed by  Initiative for Equality (IfE) - International Abibiman Foundation - Ghana Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP) – International Agricultural Support Foundation - Pakistan América Latina y el Caribe del Llamado Mundial a la Acción Contra la Pobreza (GCAP LAC) - Latin America and the Caribbean American Psychological Association (APA) – United States ASEDI - Togo Association for Promotion Sustainable Development (APSD) - India Association of Collaborative Forest Users Nepal (ACOFUN) - Nepal Aube Nouvelle pour la Femme et le Développement (ANFD)- Democratic Republic of Congo Better World Cameroon - Cameroon Black Activists Rising Against Cuts- United Kingdom Bum Association of Health Personnel (BAHEP) - Cameroon Center for Bangladesh Studies (CBS) - Bangladesh Center for Integrated Development Studies - Nepal Center for Sustainability, Ramapo College of New Jersey - United States Centre for Grassroots and Environmental Concerns - Nigeria Charles and Doosurgh Abaagu Foundation - Nigeria Climate Emergency Institute - International Coastal Area Intervention Network (CAIN) - Bangladesh Collectif Sénégalais des Africaines pour la Promotion de l'Education Relative à l'Environnement (COSAPERE) - Senegal Community and Family Aid Foundation - Ghana Community Emergency Response Initiative (CERI) - Nigeria Conservation of Flora and Fauna (COFF) - Pakistan COPPADES - Nepal Development Alternatives India - International Development Initiative for South Asians (DISA) - South Asia Donkeysaddle Projects - United States Echoes of Women in Africa Initiative - Nigeria Eco Dobrogea - Romania El Centro Para El Desarrollo Comunal (CEDECO) – Honduras Equity for Children - International Ethical Markets Media - United States and Brazil European Environmental Bureau (EEB) Fondo ACI-ERP - Honduras Forest Environment Workers Union (FEWUN) - Nepal Forum for Women and Development (FOKUS) - Norway Fundación Internacional Baltasar Garzón - International Fundación Natura - Colombia Gcom Bangladesh - Bangladesh Gender Empowerment and Development (GeED) - Cameroon Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (GNDR) - International Global Partnership for Local Action - Austria Gram Bharati Samiti (GBS) - India Greenspring Development Initiative - Nigeria Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association - Gullah/Geechee Nation Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition - Gullah/Geechee Nation Gullah/Geechee Sustainability Think Tank - Gullah/Geechee Nation Human Health Aid – Burundi Incite Options - Canada Innovative Strategy For Human Development (ISHD) - Nigeria International Council on Social Welfare Europe (ICSW) - Europe International Movement For Advancement of Education Culture Social and Economic Development (IMAECSED) - India International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) - International International Social Science Council - International IusPrimiViri - Italy Jeannette Rankin Peace Center (JRPC) - United States La Asociación De Micro, Pequeños y Medianos Empresarios Afro Hondureños – Honduras La Red Hondureña Contra La Iniquidad – Honduras Labour, Health and Human Rights Development Centre (LHAHRDEV) - Nigeria l'Association pour le développement et de la promotion des droits humains (ADPDH) - Mauritania Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women’s Rights (CLADEM) -Brazil MADRE - International Namalere Forest Conservation Organization - Kenya National Confederation of Dalit Adivasi Organisations (NACDAOR) - India National Council of Women USA - United States National Educational & Social Development Organization (NESDO) - Nepal National Fisheries Solidarity Movement (NAFSO) - Sri Lanka National Forum for Advocacy, Nepal (NAFAN) - Nepal Nepal Climate Change Federation - Nepal Neudom - Pakistan Noakhali Rural Development Society (NRDS) - Bangladesh Organisation de la Société Civile pour l'Environnement Mandresy DIANA(OSCE Mandresy DIANA) - Madagascar Orissa State Volunteers and Social Workers Association (OSVSWA)- India OSIENALA (Friends of Lake Victoria) - Kenya Other Worlds - United States Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) - Pakistan Pan African Vision for the Environment (PAVE) - Nigeria Pangoea International - Bangladesh Paradigm Youth Network - Zambia Participatory Research Action Network (PRAN) - Bangladesh PATHIKRIT - Bangladesh Sanayee Development Organization (SDO) - Afghanistan Savisthri National Women's Movement - Sri Lanka SETU - Bangladesh Sindhica Reforms Society - Pakistan Sisters of Charity Federation - United States Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur - International SocialCoop, CRL - Portugal Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC) - India Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues- International Society of Catholic Medical Missionaries - International South Asian Youth Climate Coalition (SAYCC) – India Sri Lanka Nature Group - Sri Lanka Sustainable Innovation Initiatives - International Terra-1530 - Moldova The Association of Environmental Justice in Israel (AEJI) - Israel The Lwazi Programme - Zimbabwe and United Kingdom The National Alliance of Women’s Organisations- United Kingdom The Schumacher Institute - United Kingdom TRANSPROJETACAO (Uma metodologia para prosperar a sustentabilidade no mundo) - Brazil Tribes Alive/Indigenous People's Cultural Support Trust - United Kingdom and Brazil UDYAMA - India UNANIMA- International Union de L'Action féministe (UAF) – Morocco Vinoba Bhave University, Hazaribag - India Voice of Women (VoW) - Maldives WAVE Foundation - Bangladesh Women Environmental Programme (WEP) - Nigeria World Futures Studies Federation - International  
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List of publications

recent publications of AEJI in frame of climate justice project

The Association of Environmental Justice in Israel (AEJI)   |  Sunday, 29-Nov-2015

AEJI story
We would like to share with you the following publications of AEJI in frame of Climate Justice Project: 1. AEJI Climate Justice and Economy policy Position paper no. 2 “Suggestion for Israel’s policy behavioral tools and the possible introduction of carbon tax” was selected to be presented at the main UNEP-Climate action site for COP21 .  Please see here . 2. AEJI is co-initiator of the international call* for climate justice policy in frame of COP21. The international call  - the full statement and global list of endorsement of over 200 organizations (*) The Climate Justice Committee of Initiative for Equity includes: Bhola Bhattarai – Nepal, Carmit Lubanov – Israel, Daniel Mathews – Australia, Daniela Antons – Germany, Deborah S. Rogers – United States, KavyaMichael – India, Richard Osaliya– Uganda, Roberto Guimaraes – Brazil. 3. Please find the other position papers already translated into English Climate Justice and Economic Policy Report No. 1 - Social Prism Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies And Recommendations for Advancing Climate Justice in Israel, by Roee Levy.   Climate Justice position paper no. 1 - Inequality in GHG Emissions in process of production and treatment of municipal solid wasteby Tamar Neugarten. 
list_of_publications_eng.pdf

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Civil Society Groups Call on Nations to Address Inequalities in Climate Policy

Press Release

IFE Climate Justice Committee   |  Wednesday, 18-Nov-2015
- https://initiativeforequality.org/wp-content/uploads/Climate-Justice-Press-Release-FINAL.pdf

In the press announcement: Carmit Lubanov , director of the Association of Environmental Justice in Israel, co-initiator of the call and member of the drafting committee , stated that inequalities block cooperation and collaborative problem-solving by creating lack of trust and social fragmentation. “Communities and nations are far less likely to make the necessary agreements to address climate change when they are aware that they do not share the same interests, benefits, and responsibilities,” she said. Her group works with disadvantaged communities, including Arab Israelis, for environmental empowerment, and develops policy indicators to incorporate justice and equity into environmental and climate policy
ife_press_release_-_civil_society_groups_call_on_nations_to_address_inequalities_in_climate_policy_-_november_2015revised.pdf

Climate Justice international call

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International Civil Society Call to Address Inequalities and Social Justice in Climate Policy

IFE Climate Justice Committee   |  Sunday, 15-Nov-2015
- https://www.initiativeforequality.org/images/IfEClimateJusticeFullStatementWithEndorsements3.pdf

Dear Friends and Colleagues, Initiative for Equality (IfE) has developed an “International Call to Address Inequalities and Social Justice in Climate Policy.” The statement, developed by IfE activists from every continent, focuses attention on the critically important relationship between climate change and socioeconomic inequalities, and calls on nations and multilateral institutions to make inequality and injustice a central element of the COP21 climate accords and subsequent policies. We are inviting all supportive civil society organizations to co-sign this statement. READ & SIGN HERE. Inequality is compounded by climate change because climate change disproportionately impacts poor and marginalized people and communities. Inequality promotes unsustainable over-consumption by making it socially acceptable for some people to have far more than others, and by tying consumption to social status. Finally, by eroding trust and creating social fragmentation, inequality blocks cooperation and joint problem-solving between communities and nations. Our statement calls on nations and multilateral institutions taking part in the COP21 climate accords to commit to a series of positions and actions that address the central role of inequalities in climate change. Please read the detailed summary below our signatures, or go to our website to access the full statement. READ & SIGN HERE.   We look forward to your organization’s support and signature. Let’s put the role of inequalities and social justice in climate change at the forefront of the COP21 climate discussions! In solidarity, Bhola Bhattarai - Nepal Carmit Lubanov - Israel Daniel Mathews - Australia Daniela Antons - Germany Deborah S. Rogers – United States Kavya Michael - India Richard Osaliya - Uganda Roberto Guimaraes - Brazil   International Call to Address Inequalities and Social Justice in Climate Policy October - November 2015
ife_climate_justice_full_statement_with_endorsement-november_2015.pdf

International Call for Climate Justice

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Climate Justice in Israel - Position Paper No. 2

Inequality in Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Processes of Production and Treatment of Municipal Solid Waste

Tamar Neugarten   |  Tuesday, 29-Sep-2015

This document is part of an extensive research project addressing climate justice in Israel, initiated by the Association of Environmental Justice in Israel (AEJI) and undertaken in collaboration with Tel Aviv University. The goals of the project are to research the socio-economic characteristics of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced from different sources in Israel, and formulate policy tools, including social- and behavioral-economic tools. Between the years 2011-2013, the research focused on four main spheres: domestic electricity consumption; use of transportation (privately owned vehicles); food consumption; and the production and treatment of solid waste – the issue addressed by this document. Based on availability of data, we had examined quantities of waste production in different localities in Israel and the rate of emissions from waste in each locality; and compared between localities according to their classifications as cities, local councils (smaller towns) and regional (rural) councils, and their classification into socio-economic clusters. The results of these calculations are expressed by carbon inequality coefficients – which reflect the disparity between emission quantities per person in the different clusters as related to the quantity of emissions in cluster 1 (the poorest). The following tables, summarizing the results of the research, indicate that environmental injustice does exist with regard to GHG emissions from waste, but its extent varies in accordance with the type of locality.
climatejustice_municipalsolidwaste_eng_9-2015.pdf

Climate Justice in Israel - Position paper no. 2

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Climate policy convention in Israel 2015 - Israel is preparing for Paris COP21

Background & Objectives

The Association of Environmental Justice in Israel (AEJI)   |  Sunday, 07-Jun-2015

The conference is a joint initiative of the Association of Environmental Justice in Israel (AEJI) and the Porter School of Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University, and is held as part of the Climate Research and Policy Project focusing on the Social and Economic aspects, headed by Prof. Dan Rabinowitz, head of the Porter School of Environmental Studies, Tel Aviv University and chairperson of AEJI’ board.  The Climate Research and Policy project is funded by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung.    Background 2015 probably will be the year symbolizes a significant milestone on historic scale, with the global effort in dealing with the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, and in prospect of achieving a decision at the Paris Conference (COP21) in December 2015, which will lead to the adoption of binding measures requires a long-term framework of national programs on Climate economy in different countries. The Israeli government , as part of budget cuts in 2013 - 2014, has taken a decision to halt in three years the program of reduce GHG (instead of 2013 – 2020 moved to 2016-23). The plan was adopted in 2010 in an effort to meet the declared commitment of Israel “to reduce by 20% the GHG emissions relative to ‘business as usual’ scenario by 2020”. Although the measures in the original plan and its budget allocation were not sufficient to meet the commitment of Israel, the program was an important step, since it has addressed for the first time considerable steps of a long term plan to reduce GHG emissions. Following the freezing of the governmental climate plan, Israel, at the current rate, clearly will not achieve GHG that was targeted.   Objectives The conference will hold discussion on the economic measures that will enable transition to low-carbon economy and to learn from other countries experience on the process of adopting carbon pricing policy. The consequences of Israel  has joined as state member to the OECD, after signed on Kyoto protocol will discussed as well. These objectives are in the light of the fact that Israel has to reduce GHG emissions, as part of its international obligation, and since the high probabilities Israel will be affected by climate change,  in part due to damage in agriculture, decrease in precipitation amount, rise in the extreme events of weather;  In addition, Israel should begin the transition to a low-carbon economy early, in order to gain advantage in international clean technology market, and to bring greater efficiency to the domestic industry.It is important to note that the national plan for GHG mitigation in Israel does not include the imposition of a tax on carbon, or establishment of emissions trade system, despite the position of experts that criticize the lack of the financial incentives in the program, and support combining with carbon tax, since it is a tool that contributes to the most significant reduction, and because it is considered as the cheapest tool in the short term and long term.   Program The 2015 Climate policy convention in Israel includes the following presentations: ·         International comparison of carbon pricing systems applied in key countries; The impact of the carbon tax on the Israeli economy will be reviewed on the perspective of social change undergone in Israel since the summer of 2011, as the distributive effects of a carbon tax, and the AEJI model proposal for equal carbon tax in Israel. ·         A new public opinion survey on climate change. ·         Public panel with participation of member Knesset, expert on legal processes on international arena, representative of Israeli Energy and environment organizations. 
climate_policy_convention_2015_-_brief_en.pdf

Climate policy convention in Israel 2015 - Israel is preparing for Paris COP21

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Climate policy convention in Israel 2015 - Israel is preparing for Paris COP21

The Association of Environmental Justice in Israel (AEJI)   |  Sunday, 07-Jun-2015

AEJI story
The conference is a joint initiative of the Association of Environmental Justice in Israel (AEJI) and the Porter School of Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University, and is held as part of the Climate Research and Policy Project focusing on the Social and Economic aspects, headed by Prof. Dan Rabinowitz, head of the Porter School of Environmental Studies, Tel Aviv University and chairperson of AEJI’ board.  The Climate Research and Policy project is funded by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung.    Background 2015 probably will be the year symbolizes a significant milestone on historic scale, with the global effort in dealing with the reduction of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, and in prospect of achieving a decision at the Paris Conference (COP21) in December 2015, which will lead to the adoption of binding measures requires a long-term framework of national programs on Climate economy in different countries. The Israeli government , as part of budget cuts in 2013 - 2014, has taken a decision to halt in three years the program of reduce GHG (instead of 2013 – 2020 moved to 2016-23). The plan was adopted in 2010 in an effort to meet the declared commitment of Israel “to reduce by 20% the GHG emissions relative to ‘business as usual’ scenario by 2020”. Although the measures in the original plan and its budget allocation were not sufficient to meet the commitment of Israel, the program was an important step, since it has addressed for the first time considerable steps of a long term plan to reduce GHG emissions. Following the freezing of the governmental climate plan, Israel, at the current rate, clearly will not achieve GHG that was targeted.   Objectives The conference will hold discussion on the economic measures that will enable transition to low-carbon economy and to learn from other countries experience on the process of adopting carbon pricing policy. The consequences of Israel  has joined as state member to the OECD, after signed on Kyoto protocol will discussed as well. These objectives are in the light of the fact that Israel has to reduce GHG emissions, as part of its international obligation, and since the high probabilities Israel will be affected by climate change,  in part due to damage in agriculture, decrease in precipitation amount, rise in the extreme events of weather;  In addition, Israel should begin the transition to a low-carbon economy early, in order to gain advantage in international clean technology market, and to bring greater efficiency to the domestic industry.It is important to note that the national plan for GHG mitigation in Israel does not include the imposition of a tax on carbon, or establishment of emissions trade system, despite the position of experts that criticize the lack of the financial incentives in the program, and support combining with carbon tax, since it is a tool that contributes to the most significant reduction, and because it is considered as the cheapest tool in the short term and long term.   Program The 2015 Climate policy convention in Israel includes the following presentations: ·         International comparison of carbon pricing systems applied in key countries; The impact of the carbon tax on the Israeli economy will be reviewed on the perspective of social change undergone in Israel since the summer of 2011, as the distributive effects of a carbon tax, and the AEJI model proposal for equal carbon tax in Israel. ·         A new public opinion survey on climate change. ·         Public panel with participation of member Knesset, expert on legal processes on international arena, representative of Israeli Energy and environment organizations. 
2015_climate_convention_-__final_program__en.pdf

Program

climate_policy_convention_2015_-_brief_en.pdf

Background & Objectives

climate_change_speech_-_luigi_pratolongo_eu_delegation_-_7th_june_2015_tel_aviv_conference.pdf

presentation : The Paris Protocol - a blueprint for tackling global climate change beyond 2020 Mr. Luigi Pratolongo, the Head o

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Climate Justice and Economic Policy Report No. 1

Social Prism Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies And Recommendations for Advancing Climate Justice in Israel

Ro'ee Levy   |  Monday, 06-Apr-2015

AEJI story
English Edition Introduction This document was originally published in Hebrew in August 2012, and submitted to the Israeli Government Steering Committee, which was mandated Israel to formulate a national policy for climate change and GHG mitigation. The committee was established in as part of government resolution 1504 (14.3.2010)[1], targeting a GHG emissions reduction rate of 20% of the total emissions expected in 2020, according to ‘business as usual’ scenario. The committee examined the economic impact of the reduction of GHG on the Israeli Economy, and was asked to propose the most efficient policy tools that would ensure the goal was met. This study refers to the national plan prepared by the steering committee, headed by the Director General of the Israel Treasure Ministry. In May 2013 a three-year hold was put on the implementation of the national GHG reduction plan due to budget cuts. The plan was to resume in 2016 with an expected completion by 2023. The position paper is being republished in English in 2015 and including the most up to date information following the government freeze of the national GHG Emission reduction plan   [1] http://www.pmo.gov.il/secretary/govdecisions/2010/pages/des1504.aspx
climate_justice_and_economic_policy_report_no_1_english_edition_-_may_2015.pdf

Recommendations for Advancing Climate Justice in Israel

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Climate Justice and Economic Policy Report No. 1

Social Prism Analysis of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies And Recommendations for Advancing Climate Justice in Israel

Ro'ee Levy   |  Monday, 06-Apr-2015

English Edition Introduction This document was originally published in Hebrew in August 2012, and submitted to the Israeli Government Steering Committee, which was mandated Israel to formulate a national policy for climate change and GHG mitigation. The committee was established in as part of government resolution 1504 (14.3.2010)[1], targeting a GHG emissions reduction rate of 20% of the total emissions expected in 2020, according to ‘business as usual’ scenario. The committee examined the economic impact of the reduction of GHG on the Israeli Economy, and was asked to propose the most efficient policy tools that would ensure the goal was met. This study refers to the national plan prepared by the steering committee, headed by the Director General of the Israel Treasure Ministry. In May 2013 a three-year hold was put on the implementation of the national GHG reduction plan due to budget cuts. The plan was to resume in 2016 with an expected completion by 2023. The position paper is being republished in English in 2015 and including the most up to date information following the government freeze of the national GHG Emission reduction plan   [1] http://www.pmo.gov.il/secretary/govdecisions/2010/pages/des1504.aspx
climate_justice_and_economic_policy_report_no_1_english_edition_-_may_2015.pdf

Recommendations for Advancing Climate Justice in Israel

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