Updated: 12/07/2010
Climate change is widely considered to be one of the most potentially serious environmental problems facing the world community. Countries worldwide have placed climate change high on their list of environmental priorities. Israel is no different.In recent years, Israel has taken numerous steps to confront the problem of climate change and has stepped up its activities in preparation for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 15) in Copenhagen. Confronting Climate Change in Israel In May 2009, the Israel Cabinet resolved to establish a Ministerial Committee on Environmental Protection and Climate Change, headed by Israel's Minister of Environmental Protection. In June 2009, a directors general committee was appointed, headed by the director general of the ministry, to formulate a national climate change plan for Israel, which will consist of both mitigation and adaptation measures. Confronting Climate Change Worldwide According to the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as is now evident from observations of increases in global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice and rising global average sea level." Global warming is caused by the excess emission of heat-trapping gases, known as greenhouse gases, which prevent the sun's energy from radiating back into space after it has reached the surface of the earth. The main greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxides, gases that mostly result from the burning of fossil fuels, from agricultural practices and land use changes and from waste dumps. According to the IPCC, the scientific intergovernmental body established to provide decision makers and others with an objective source of information about climate change, global greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities have grown since pre-industrial times, with an increase of 70% between 1970 and 2004. The IPCC assesses with very high confidence that the globally averaged net effect of human activities since 1750 has been one of warming. The "best case" climate models estimate that the average global temperature will rise by 1.8° C to 4.0° C by the year 2100. A temperature increase of 0.74° C occurred last century and for the next two decades, a warming of about 0.2° C per decade is projected should greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise at their current pace and are allowed to double from their pre-industrial level. To address the challenge and mobilize the world community to respond to the problem, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992 and came into force in 1994. The Convention is complemented by the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force in 2005 and relates to a five year commitment period beginning in 2008 and ending in 2012.
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