The Jewish state, now marking its 77th year of independence, is expected to be much hotter in seven decades.
Without proper long-term planning, Israel might become an urban heat island due to fierce sun radiation and water concerns, the head of the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design’s Urban Design program, Danielah Smits-Possek, told The Jerusalem Post.
From the shrinking shores of the Dead Sea to the extreme heat of the Middle East, environmental challenges will become critical in the coming decades.
According to some of Israel’s leading environmental and climate innovators – who have dedicated their lives to addressing the environmental challenges threatening to reshape the landscape in profound and potentially irreversible ways – there are two paths: idyllic or apocalyptic.
Israeli-American solar energy pioneer Yosef Abramowitz explained the turning point this country is at and what awaits our children if we don’t act soon.
“Herzl, when he had his vision for this place, he envisioned that all the energy was going to be green and that all the cars were going to be electric,” said Abramowitz.
If we don’t work to fulfill Herzl’s vision, the alternative would be to let the fossil fuel industry destroy the future of our state, he explained.
Mor Gilboa, CEO of the Israeli NGO Zalul, detailed a world where humanity has failed to stop climate change.
“With all my desire to imagine a better, cleaner world, it’s very difficult given our current trajectory,” he said, explaining that currently, 80% of the world’s coral reefs, from Australia to Eilat, have been lost due to climate crises, rising water temperatures, and water acidification.
Gilad Ostrovsky, chief forester at Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, explained that it’s difficult to see past the glaring threat of climate change, especially given the fact that the Middle East is warming much faster than the global average.
“That means less rain, longer, hotter periods, droughts, really difficult conditions for humans, but also for trees and for the natural environment. It’s a real threat, and it has a component of uncertainty. We’re not sure what will happen. We have to think for the long term and do what we can to make sure that the open lands will remain, not just for the 77 years to come but for the future.”
WHEN WE THINK about the biggest threats to our country, usually Hamas or Hezbollah come to mind. But these experts explained that when looking to the future, we need to start looking inward.
“More people die from the effects of air pollution in the State of Israel every year than from October 7 and the aftermath,” Abramowitz said, adding that the two main contributors to that massive figure – 5,510 in 2023, according to the Health Ministry – are the pollution that comes from generating power by burning gas and coal and the reliance on combustion engines for transportation.
Gilboa explained that the current battle isn’t against a foreign enemy but government ministries.
“At Zalul, we focus on preventing pollution in seas, streams, and water sources – combating sewage, oil, plastic, and industrial discharges that harm marine ecosystems. We’re also concerned about light pollution from artificial illumination of docks.
“We’re currently dealing with the government’s desire and the Katza (Europe Asia Pipeline Company) plans to dramatically increase oil shipments through Eilat port, which poses a major threat to the gulf. If the government surrenders to Katza and increases oil shipments, we face scenarios of oil pollution and disasters.”
This past February had the lowest rainfall on record here, meaning that this summer, wildfires will be especially ferocious.
But before we even get to the hottest months, Ostrovsky explained, the war has already sped up the damage to our forests.
“We had nearly 200,000 dunams (20,000 hectares) of open land that were burned, mainly from missiles and so on. 20,000 (2,000) of them are forests. That means mainly conifers, oaks, and the natural environment of Israel,” he explained.
“Also, war is not a pleasant thing. There is a lot of other land degradation, like from new roads and points where the army is arranging itself. We have to make sure to treat the forest and take it back to the best tree cover that we can. Looking to the future, wars are not predictable, and hopefully, we will live in peace with our neighbors.”
Could environmental innovation be the secret to peace?
Water conflicts have been a real issue throughout human history, and it’s only expected to get worse as time goes on.
“The entire Middle East, including Israel, is in a very climate-sensitive region becoming drier with more droughts and less rainfall. Each year breaks the previous year’s heat record,” Gilboa explained, adding that there’s a limit to how much water can actually be desalinated, which leads to geopolitical complications.
There were plans for Israel to transfer water to Jordan, the ninth-driest country in the world, in exchange for solar energy, but due to the war, the agreements have stalled.
“We need to treat the climate crisis as a security threat to our existence. As [former US president] Joe Biden said, climate change is the most existential threat of our time. Yet humanity isn’t acting sufficiently, and Israel isn’t doing what’s required to ensure people can live here in 2100.”
What kind of Israel will we leave behind?
“If you ask me to project, I would like to be optimistic and hope that we’ll still have most of the forests with us, and maybe we’ll be wise enough to find compensation,” Ostrovsky said.
“We have to think out of the box. That means forests attached to towns and cities, small forests within the cities, and some new forested areas along agricultural land. [There are] so many new ideas that we should put into practice to make sure, as I said before, to keep the open lands and forests for the next generations.”
Gilboa echoed those sentiments: “We haven’t passed the tipping point yet; there’s still time. Humanity can mobilize and do much more for climate and environment,” he said, adding that each of us has the means to help the planet with small changes like changing our online shopping habits, reducing single-use plastics, and flying less.
“Israel is a hi-tech and clean-tech power, exporting technology worldwide. We can implement these technologies here to better protect the Gulf of Eilat, the Mediterranean Sea, our streams, and the Dead Sea, preserving ecological heritage for future generations.”
What would these experts do to help save our planet?
“I would say to adopt the UN agenda of not losing even one dunam of forest, and even more, to enlarge the forests every year… I think if it got government support, we could make it happen,” Ostrovsky said, adding that this isn’t just wishful thinking but something very possible to achieve.
“That means that the development of the cities will be within the built area only, and if there is a need to take a portion of the forest, there will be compensation in another place. It is practical and doable, and we need a lot of vision to actually do it. It would be an excellent gift for Israel and for the next generations.”
Gilboa suggested an urgent transition to energy sourcing that’s at least 80% based on renewable energy, dramatically reducing oil shipping and our dependence on fossil fuels.
“I’d also promote policies protecting the sea – declaring many more marine reserves in coastal areas, protecting them from drilling and oil shipping,” he said.
“Currently, 80% of our waste goes to landfills, which is a very high percentage. Among OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development] countries, we’re second to last, with only one country performing worse. This landfill waste contaminates soil, emits greenhouse gases like methane, and much of it ends up in beaches, nature, streams, and the sea, harming health and ecosystems.”
Gilboa also detailed his idea to address pollution, explaining that with almost every heavy rainfall, sewage is discharged into drainage systems, beaches, and streams, harming marine environments, animals, and public health.
“The Environmental Protection Ministry says it needs one hundred million shekels and many positions to establish marine emergency stations. There’s a national plan for the prevention and handling of oil disasters at sea, but it’s not funded. If a disaster happens tomorrow, we can’t handle it.”
For Abramowitz, the plan was succinctly detailed, a way to ensure Israel would run on 100% solar power by 2030, a timeframe he still believes we can achieve.
“Every rooftop will be mandated to have solar, plus energy storage, even just for energy security. [It should be mandated] that we have a large reserve of available land for solar fields, that they be given an exemption from building permits for solar fields,” he said, adding that the question to ask is not ‘How much will this cost?’ but rather ‘How much will this save?’
“Large-scale solar is about a third of the price of gas. So it’s more about how much we would save if we did that. And then the question – because there are rockets, ballistic missiles, cyberattacks, and an earthquake zone that’s active – just for our own energy security, what would it cost if we didn’t quickly create a distributed energy network that could survive any of those types of negative events? So the cost is much higher.”
The future we choose
As we contemplate Israel’s next 77 years, the crossroads we stand at today will determine the landscape our children and grandchildren inherit. These experts painted a picture not just of challenges but of remarkable opportunities that align with the founding vision of Israel itself.
Herzl’s original dream included renewable energy and sustainable transportation – a vision that we have yet to achieve but has become increasingly necessary. Today, we must honor his legacy with modern tools and renewed commitment.
Environmental security is more than just recycling or planting trees; it is an issue of national security. When more Israelis die from pollution than from conflict each year, we must expand our definition of what threatens our nation.
The Environmental Protection Ministry declined to be interviewed for this article. This official inaction speaks volumes about the current priorities and reinforces what our experts have emphasized – we cannot wait for help.
Israel’s position as the Start-Up Nation provides unique advantages in this fight. The same ingenuity that has created world-changing technologies can be harnessed to develop solutions not just for Israel but for the entire region. Environmental cooperation – like the stalled water-for-energy agreement with Jordan – offers a pathway to peace that transcends politics.
Will we continue on our current trajectory toward a hotter, drier, more polluted Israel, or will we embrace the challenge of creating a sustainable future? Will we allow the Dead Sea to continue shrinking until it exists only in photographs, or will we take action to ensure our children will get to swim and play in it as we do now?
The Israel of 2100 is being shaped by decisions made today. The future we choose will be our legacy. ■
The Environment and Climate Change portal is produced in cooperation with the Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The Jerusalem Post maintains all editorial decisions related to the content.
