Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan noted that Israel's preparedness for climate change requires a change in public behavior and that the country's environmental organizations are considered key ambassadors in highlighting the need for change among the general public. "The Copenhagen Conference which ended last week taught us that the world must change its ways in order to successfully cope with the climate change challenge. Within the framework of global preparations, I instructed my Ministry to formulate a national plan for emissions reduction based on the targets presented by President Peres in the Copenhagen Conference. In parallel, there is utmost importance in recruiting the public and changing its behavioral patterns in order to adjust our life style to the new global reality. Environmental organizations play a major role in distributing information to the public and therefore I allocated these funds to help develop their activities in this field."

In the wake of a call for proposals published by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, more than 30 applications for assistance were submitted, of which 14 complied with the criteria formulated for joint events. Events will take place beginning January 2010 and July 2010, and their content will be decided upon by the environmental organizations in cooperation with the Ministry.

More Links:

	Copenhagen Climate Change Conference: The Israeli Perspective
	Climate Change