National Plan for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (IL0028)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Israel Action Plan 2017-2019
Action Plan Cycle: 2017
Status:
Institutions
Lead Institution: Air Quality and Climate Change Department, Ministry of Environmental Protection
Support Institution(s): Relevant government ministries, mainly Energy (including the Electricity Authority), Economics and Industry, Transportation, Construction and Housing, Central Bureau of Statistics, Participants in the Interministerial Committee for Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions (such as “Man, Nature and Law,” “Life and Environment,” “Green Trend”, The Manufacturers Association, Forum 15)
Policy Areas
Climate Mitigation and Adaptation, Energy, Environment and ClimateIRM Review
IRM Report: Israel Implementation Report 2017-2019, Israel Design Report 2017-2019
Early Results: Did Not Change
Design i
Verifiable: Yes
Relevant to OGP Values: Yes
Ambition (see definition): High
Implementation i
Description
What is the public problem that the will commitment address?
The Paris Climate Accord requires countries (that ratified the accord) to set national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to perform monitoring and control over the implementation of measures to achieve the targets. As a part of Government Resolution No. 542, the government of Israel has set a target for itself to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 7.7 tons of CO2e per capita by 2030. In addition, targets were set for efficient energy use, renewable energy and minimizing the usage of private vehicles. In order to achieve those targets, the government has formulated a national action plan (Government Resolution 1403). A system to monitor and control the progress towards achieving this target is currently being established. ent?What is the commitm
The establishment of a system to control and report the progress towards the targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (MRV - Measurement, Reporting, and Verification). The system will be based on annual monitoring of the implementation of the measures to reduce greenhouse gases, on procedures for evaluating the quality of the efforts, and on submitting reports to the government and to the UN). Within the scope of this process, the Ministry, together with representatives of an interministerial committee, are formulating methodologies to calculate the reductions and to estimate the improvement in the situation and the progress towards achieving the defined targets. Collecting and analyzing the information will enable the government’s work to be streamlined and changes to be made in the national plan as needed. How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem?
The system will provide the government and the public with relevant information about the implementation of the National Plan for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the achievement of the government's targets. This system will help in the preparation of progress reports to the government and to the UN Climate Change Committee and will allow examining of the plan's effectiveness, and updating it consequently. Furthermore, this commitment is consistent with one of the key issues in the Paris Accord – promoting transparency, so that the entire international community is kept abreast about the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and enables global control over the progress to achieve the global target (maximum rise of 2C in global warming, with a desired target of 1.5C). Why is this commitment es?relevant to OGP valu
Transparency: The database makes information publicly accessible about the progress in implementing the National Plan for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
Accountability: The database enables the public to understand the latest situation regarding greenhouse gases in Israel, and to monitor the implementation of the government plan to achieve the target set for 2030. Additional information: http://www.sviva.gov.il/English/ResourcesandServices/NewsAn-May/Israel-dEvents/NewsAndMessageDover/Pages/2017/05-Reduction-Gas-Greenhouse-Presenting-in-Nations-Other-JoinsMeeting.aspx-Climate-During-UN-to-Plan
http://www.pmo.gov.il/Secretary/GovDecisions/2015/Pages/dec542.aspx
http://www.pmo.gov.il/Secretary/GovDecisions/2016/Pages/des1403.aspx
Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable: Formulating the system’s infrastructure (monitoring methodologies, data collection tools, database and models for forecasts and analyses) and obtaining the approval of the government ministries involved.
01.01.2016
31.12.2017
Collecting data from the government ministries
01.01.2018
31.03.2018
Submitting an annual report to the government
30.06.2018
IRM Midterm Status Summary
6. Establishing a reporting and control system on the implementation of the measures in the National Plan for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan: [18]
“The Paris Climate Accord requires countries (that ratified the accord) to set national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to perform monitoring and control over the implementation of measures to achieve the targets. As a part of Government Resolution No. 542, the government of Israel has set a target for itself to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 7.7 tons of CO2e per capita by 2030. In addition, targets were set for efficient energy use, renewable energy and minimizing the usage of private vehicles. In order to achieve those targets, the government has formulated a national action plan (Government Resolution 1403). A system to monitor and control the progress towards achieving this target is currently being established.
The establishment of a system to control and report the progress towards the targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (MRV – Measurement, Reporting, and Verification). The system will be based on annual monitoring of the implementation of the measures to reduce greenhouse gases, on procedures for evaluating the quality of the efforts, and on submitting reports to the government and to the UN). Within the scope of this process, the Ministry, together with representatives of an interministerial committee, are formulating methodologies to calculate the reductions and to estimate the improvement in the situation and the progress towards achieving the defined targets. Collecting and analyzing the information will enable the government’s work to be streamlined and changes to be made in the national plan as needed.”
Milestones
6.1 Formulating the system’s infrastructure (monitoring methodologies, data collection tools, database, and models for forecasts and analyses) and obtaining the approval of the government ministries involved.
6.2 Collecting data from the government ministries
6.3 Submitting an annual report to the government
Start Date: January 2016
End Date: June 2018
Context and Objectives
The 2015 UN climate summit in Paris yielded an international agreement to fight global climate change. [19] Israel ratified this agreement in 2016. Consequently, the Ministry of Environment Protection created an inter-agency that is obliged to publish a report by the end of every year, reporting on the implementation of the measures included in the National Plan for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. This commitment is the mechanism to fulfill this reporting obligation. [20] Specifically, the submission of the annual report with all the collected information on Israel’s progress in implementing the Paris Agreement will provide the public with access to important environmental data. According to “The National Plan for the Implementation of the Paris Accord” from September 2016, [21] the annual reports will include information on the National Emissions Inventory, implementation indicators, public and private spending as part of the program, and policy analysis and recommendations.
The first two milestones of the commitment are not easily verified, as they are based mostly on internal government affairs. However, the third milestone is more verifiable, which is important because it is the one from which the implementation of the first two commitments can be assessed. The potential impact of the commitment on access to information is assessed as moderate. It falls short of transformative, as it reports on activities the convention already obligated and such that are normally available, according to Israel’s FOI law, but without the national aggregate and the comparison to Paris Accord commitments, which are important to better understand the overall situation. Article 6A of the law, as amended in 2005, requires all agencies holding information “substances that were emitted, spilled, disposed or released to the environment and the results of measurements of noise, odors and radiation, not in the private domain” to proactively publish such data on their websites. [22]
However, the publication of the report may contribute significantly to Israel’s success in meeting its reporting obligations under the Paris Agreement. It will do so by empowering environmental activists and mobilizing their impact on decision-makers. By having access to such information CSOs will be able to better mobilize public opinion and point out government shortcomings, for instance, in meeting their commitments under the Paris Accord. It will also help them in preparing shadow reports. For non-experts, this information is much more useful than that currently released under the FOI law, as it is given within the context of international requirements and standards and is not so detailed as to overwhelm the lay person with too much data.
Next steps
The IRM researchers recommend that in future publications of annual reports under the Paris Agreement, more thought could be given to presenting the information in a manner more easily understandable to laypersons. It is also recommended to include comparative information with previous reporting periods to demonstrate trends in implementation of the convention.
IRM End of Term Status Summary
6. Establishing a reporting and control system on the implementation of the measures in the National Plan for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan: [27]
“The Paris Climate Accord requires countries (that ratified the accord) to set national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to perform monitoring and control over the implementation of measures to achieve the targets. As a part of Government Resolution No. 542, the government of Israel has set a target for itself to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 7.7 tons of CO2e per capita by 2030. In addition, targets were set for efficient energy use, renewable energy and minimizing the usage of private vehicles. In order to achieve those targets, the government has formulated a national action plan (Government Resolution 1403). A system to monitor and control the progress towards achieving this target is currently being established.
The establishment of a system to control and report the progress towards the targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions (MRV – Measurement, Reporting, and Verification). The system will be based on annual monitoring of the implementation of the measures to reduce greenhouse gases, on procedures for evaluating the quality of the efforts, and on submitting reports to the government and to the UN). Within the scope of this process, the Ministry, together with representatives of an interministerial committee, are formulating methodologies to calculate the reductions and to estimate the improvement in the situation and the progress towards achieving the defined targets. Collecting and analyzing the information will enable the government’s work to be streamlined and changes to be made in the national plan as needed.”
Milestones
6.1 Formulating the system’s infrastructure (monitoring methodologies, data collection tools, database, and models for forecasts and analyses) and obtaining the approval of the government ministries involved.
6.2 Collecting data from the government ministries
6.3 Submitting an annual report to the government
Start Date: January 2016
End Date: June 2018
The commitment aimed to establish a system to report Israel’s progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions (MRV—Measurement, Reporting, and Verification), as required by the Paris Climate Accord. [28] The commitment was based on some parts of the internal government not presenting any new information to the public (such as the collection of data) and the requirement of the accord to publicize an annual report that is open to the public.
It is difficult to assess the level of implementation of this commitment, as the Ministry of Environmental Protection did not provide any updates to the IRM researchers, despite repeated requests. The ministry’s website includes some annual information up to 2016 and no later. [29] A search in a separate greenhouse gas reporting website yielded a link to 2016 and 2017 annual reports, published in May 2017 and November 2018 respectively. [30] A 2018 report was not published, though the commitment referred to June 2018 as the date for submission of annual reports. Thus, the 2018 report should have been published by June 2019.
This activity pre-existed the current action plan, and there is less information available on the ministry’s website regarding the relevant information for the action plan period than before. Therefore, the commitment itself has not led to any improvements to access to data on greenhouse gas emissions. It made the information regarding the years 2016 and 2017 available to the public, as required by the Paris Accords, but this information was already available beforehand. Much information that needs to be collected under the Paris Accord, like specific voluntary reports on greenhouse gas emissions from industries, does not seem to be publicly available.
[27] “Open Government Action Plan for 2018–2019”, Government OCT Authority, pp. 27–30, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Israel_Action-Plan_2017-2019_EN.pdf.
[28] “Paris Agreement”, United Nations, 2015, https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/english_paris_agreement.pdf.
[29] “Voluntary Reporting and Reduction of Greenhouse Gases”, Ministry of the Environment, available [in Hebrew] at http://www.sviva.gov.il/subjectsEnv/ClimateChange/GHG/Pages/default.aspx.
[30] “Registration of greenhouse has emissions in Israel”, Samuel Neaman Institute for National Policy Research, https://www.neaman.org.il/Greenhouse-Gases-Reporting-Registration-System. These reports appear on the website of the “Shmuel Ne’eman Institute for National Policy Research” in the Technion—the Israel Institute of Technology—which apparently contracted with the government to carry out the methodology and implementation of the reports.