Government okay plan to slash carbon emissions by 2050

The government unanimously approves a plan to drastically reduce carbon emissions by 2050, a move hailed as a “historic moment” as Israel ramps up efforts to tackle climate change.

The measures, initially released on Friday, call for reducing carbon emissions by at least 85 percent by 2050 compared with 2015 levels, with an intermediary target of 27 percent by 2030.

It includes targets for a 96 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in transportation, 85 percent in the electricity sector and 92 percent in municipal waste.

After Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s cabinet approved the measures at a meeting today, Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg hails “a historic moment for health, the environment and future generations.”

Bennett calls it “a precedent-setting decision that will gradually shift the State of Israel to a low-carbon economy.”

Israel signed the 2015 Paris climate accord, pledging to keep its carbon emissions stable until 2030.