"Climate change is clearly a threat to Israel's national security on several fronts, but the high - budget Ministry of Defense has not yet grasped it," said Professor Yoav Yair, dean of the Reichman University School of Sustainability, in a special conversation with Israel Today on the third day of the conference. The climate in Glasgow.
Should Defense Minister and Chief of Staff Kochavi worry? \ Photo: Ariel Hermoni, Ministry of Defense,
Prof. Yair details: "Unlike the Pentagon, the US Army and NATO Command, which treat climate change as a top-level national security issue, the Ministry of Defense and the IDF are very different in addressing this issue.
No systematic staff work has yet been done on the strategic implications of the changes in our region, and there is no body that integrates and recommends courses of action - both at the geopolitical level and at the military-tactical level of using force "(there is an in-depth study by the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University , Which is a platform for thinking in the security systems of the State of Israel, etc.).
Dealing with the climate crisis // Photo: AFP,
Regarding the decision to halt deforestation and demolition by 2030, he said: "The agreement signed is of immense importance, as the dangerous trend of deforestation has reached almost a point of no return, followed by irreversible damage to the witness forest ecosystem and the biosphere's ability to assimilate. Carbon dioxide and remove it from the atmosphere.
"Brazil in particular, where the systematic destruction of the Amazon forests is taking place, can bring about a historic change here and reverse the trend of forest creation, offering a horizon of hope for natural recovery and a better response to the climate crisis."
Prof. Yoav Yair // Photo: Adi Cohen-Tzedek,
Prof. Yair added: "The Prime Minister, in fact, his trip to Glasgow and the principled commitment to emissions from 0 to 2050 - which is one side of preparing for the crisis - will also effectively run government ministries and his subordinates to write work plans for the next decade and implement them. "The next rotation. We do not have much time and failure is not an option."
The expert professor of atmospheric and space science research emphasizes the sense of urgency that the current conference provides: “Climate change we are only at the beginning is the factor that will shape our lives in the coming decades.
"The line is clear and not surprising - we see it for at least 20 years and in the near present we will experience it and see it with our own eyes: a gradual reduction in rainfall, increasing desertification along with increasingly common heat waves. For the sake of illustration, if once every few years "Tragic in Tzfit or unfortunately killed in an elevator in Tel Aviv - things like this will happen two or five times a year. This is the climate we expect and the state should prepare for it at the level of infrastructure and procedures and forecasting and not postpone it to 2030 because it will be too late."
Protesters at climate conference // Photo: EP,
Yair details the steps required in his opinion: "It is clear to everyone what needs to be done and it is clear that it will not be easy. We need to change the structure of all energy production systems and adapt them to an era free of CO2 emissions *
In fact, Yair emphasizes the importance of allocating water to nature, setting up another desalination plant and also noting the transition as quickly as possible to electric transportation alongside encouraging public transportation.
PM Bennett Speaks at Glasgow Climate Conference // Photo: EP,
Prof. Yair added: "I must be optimistic alongside the fact that at the end of the day he will look into action. There is some satisfaction that politicians understand that their voters and especially young people care, and the rise of the Green Party in Germany is an expression of this. Schedules and budgets to achieve the stated goal. "
On the practical functioning of Israel on the issue he said.
"The government is lifting the gauntlet and I hope it will do what needs to be done. The objective figure is that Israel is quite behind - without a practical plan to tackle the climate challenge, without a climate law, and has no plan to impose a 'carbon tax' and therefore the prime minister has a very heavy responsibility. When we start with a starting position of lag behind many countries in the world, it is more difficult to close the gap, but we have an innovation authority and the "start-up nation" and instead of cyber and fintech we should put the money on "climate tech" and encourage growth of a new sector that can lead to Israeli leadership. "I think the government sees this and is working on it, but the implementation - as always - will determine and we will be able to measure it very soon."
