Coalition advances Climate Bill through 1st reading in Hail Mary attempt to save legislation

The coalition has advanced Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg’s Climate Bill through a first reading.

However, supporters of the bill will have to race against the clock to pass it through two more readings before the Knesset is expected to disperse later this week.

The draft legislation seeks to commit the government to cutting global warming emissions by at least 27 percent by 2030, compared with a 2015 benchmark, and to reach net-zero by 2050.

The bill provides for the establishment of a Ministerial Committee on Climate Affairs, to be headed by the prime minister, for the purpose of ensuring smooth coordination between various government bodies.

It commits the environmental protection minister to producing a National Emission Reduction Plan for government approval.

It orders government ministries and other bodies to compile climate change preparation plans, implement them and report on them once a year. These plans are to be approved within two years of the bill becoming law, and are to be updated every five years.

Within one year of the bill becoming law, the government will have to create a framework and targets to allow all relevant plans submitted for government or ministerial approval to be assessed for their climate impact.