Israel touts potential contributions on climate change at UN climate conference

Israel’s pavilion at the UN climate conference, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, is officially opened by Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman, the Foreign Office special climate envoy Gideon Behar, and other senior figures.

Speakers emphasize that while Israel is a small country, it can contribute substantially to the global fight against climate change through technical innovation.

“Israel is a small country, but its spirit of innovation is anything but small,” says Silman, who failed to get a climate law passed in Israel in time for the international confab. “We are here as a partner ready to share our technology.”

Behar warns that if the world continues with business as usual, annual average temperatures will rise by 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, “which would be a disaster” for the world.

“Israel has a mission,” he declares, “and this is our time. This [climate change] is the most pressing crisis facing humanity since humans were created. We have a calling and we have the solutions. We have so much intelligence and dedication that we can make a difference globally.”

The Israeli pavilion is running 35 events and is hosting 20 climate tech companies, ten each week until November 22.