Without MKs and without brakes: Fears of abandoning the environmental arena in the next Knesset

Shortly, Idit Silman will leave the office of the Minister of Environmental Protection. At the end of a stormy term, filled with publicized quarrels with environmental organizations and Knesset members who deal with the field regularly, she will move on, and a new minister will enter the ministry. However, it is possible that the replacement will step into a completely different arena: one devoid of significant criticism in the legislature, as currently, no candidate has emerged in any list who is set to carry the flag in the Knesset.

In the last Knesset, MKs who cared deeply about the issue managed to prevent clear anti-environmental steps, and now there is a fear that the arena will be abandoned and, in practice, destructive steps will be promoted without any brakes. Environmental organizations have already appealed to the leader of the Yashar! party, Gadi Eisenkot, with a request to reserve a realistic spot for Prof. Alon Tal, but it is not at all certain that their request will be answered.

Israel is expected to be hotter, drier, and suffer from frequent extreme weather events due to climate change. By the end of the century, the average temperature could rise by about 4 degrees Celsius, and the average amount of precipitation could decrease by about 10%-20%, alongside an increase in heat loads and frequent flooding. Air pollution in Israel is also not a subject to be proud of: according to the Environment and Health Fund (EHF), Israel is ranked 37th out of 40 OECD countries in PM2.5 levels — meaning it is among the most polluted.

To fight air pollution on one hand and turn Israel into a country that defends itself against climate change on the other, robust regulation and strict enforcement, budgeting, monitoring of decisions, and especially public representatives who care deeply about the issue are needed. The last term proved this even more strongly: environmental organizations often called Silman the minister of attacking or destroying the environment, while in the Knesset, a handful of MKs managed time and again, in cooperation with environmental organizations, to prevent destructive moves or try to fight against them.

Only two MKs dealt with the issue intensively: Yorai Lahav-Hertzanu and Matti Sarfaty-Harkabi from Yesh Atid. They were joined from time to time by MKs Yasmin Fridman and Naama Lazimi. MK Alon Schuster also acted in the State Control Committee to exert pressure on the Ministry of Finance so that they would address environmental aspects in the Dead Sea concession law.

"This government was the most anti-environmental in the history of the country," says Tomer Gartel, government relations coordinator at the 'Magama Yeruka' organization. "Destroying the Clean Air Law, increasing the transport of explosives in the Gulf of Eilat, promoting a radioactive phosphate mine in Sde Barir, and building on open natural areas are just a fraction of the damage done. And yet, we managed to find worthy and brave partners in the Knesset. Thanks to the extensive work with the MKs, we managed to promote struggles, block legislation for building on nature reserves, and oppose the perforated and lacking government Climate Law."