The environmental failure is a governance failure — and the next government must change the system | Prof. Marcelo Sternberg
Prof. Marcelo Sternberg argues that Israel's environmental failure is a governance failure, and the next government must change its working methods. He cites data showing nearly 148,000 dunams of natural areas lost between 2015 and 2023, and warns of risks to water, energy, health, and agriculture. He calls for a framework law on climate-ecological responsibility, an independent scientific body with legal status, and the integration of environmental responsibility into every government ministry.
In an opinion column in Maariv, Prof. Marcelo Sternberg argues that Israel's environmental failure is a governance failure, and the next government must change its working methods. He notes that the climate crisis, loss of open spaces, land degradation, air and water pollution, and the waste crisis are already here and are not waiting for the war to end. He warns that Israel is warming and drying, and that the State Comptroller has already warned of risks to the water and energy economy, infrastructure, public health, agriculture, and food security. He cites official data: between 2015 and 2023, nearly 148,000 dunams of natural areas were lost in Israel. He claims that the paradigm that the environment is the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Environmental Protection has failed, and that a large part of the crisis stems from decisions by other ministries — Finance, Housing, Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture. He calls for a framework law on climate-ecological responsibility and natural capital, which would obligate every ministry to account for the environmental consequences of its decisions, and for the establishment of an independent scientific body with legal status. He notes that the Ministerial Committee on Climate Affairs has not held even one meeting, and that national preparedness is far from what is required. He emphasizes that pollution has no passport, and that streams, aquifers, air, and sea connect Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza.