Climate innovation at the Israeli pavilion at the UN Climate Conference COP29 in Baku
Israel cooperates and contributes to tackling the global challenge of the climate crisis by developing and supplying innovative and practical solutions.
- Israel aims to provide the world with practical, scalable and cost-effective solutions to the climate crisis, by sharing Israel's expertise and knowhow in the field of climate innovation.
- The Israeli pavilion's goal is to be a platform not solely to showcase Israeli innovation, but also to serve as a meeting place for professional collaboration to promote viable solutions to the climate crisis.
- Israel is focused on both aspects of climate innovation - mitigation of GHG emissions, and adaptation to the new climate, to improve resilience in the face of disaster and damage that has already been done.
- Israel is considered one of the world’s leading countries in the field of climate innovation. There are approximately 1,300 Israeli companies and startups in the field, and dozens more are added yearly.
- Israel's arid climate, together with the determination of entrepreneurs to find innovative technological solutions, promotes the development of capabilities that are in growing demand worldwide as the climate crisis progresses.
Israeli climate innovation stands out in the fields of: water, agriculture, animal protein substitutes, energy, nature-based solutions, sustainable transportation, carbon capture and storage and social innovation:
- Israel holds world records in the field of water:
- Wastewater treatment - 85% is being treated and reused in agriculture and industry.
- Prevention of leaks in water supply systems, where only 7% is lost (compared to 30% worldwide).
- Desalination - Israel’s desalination plants are of the most advanced in the world – where sea water turns into drinking water.
- Israel has one of the most sophisticated water management systems.
- Israel's water innovations in agriculture - drip irrigation, drought and heat resistant crops, precision agriculture (remote sensing and the use of drones for crop management), biological pest control, and the utilization of brackish and saline water.
These are a few examples, all of which enable agriculture in arid conditions and help reduce GHG emissions.
- Israel is second only to the United States in the development and investments in the field of alternative protein; through substitutes sourced from vegetable proteins, cultured meat and proteins produced through fermentation. Finding alternatives to animal-based proteins is crucial to sustain nutrition security and mitigate the adverse environmental effects of the animal product industry.
- Israel is home to many companies which are engaged in the development of renewable energy and are active worldwide. Just to name a few: energy generation using sea waves, increasing energy efficiency using big data and smart algorithms and energy storage in compressed air or ice.
- Despite being a small and young country, Israel has a great deal of experience in rehabilitating natural eco-systems, re-introducing species to their natural environment, and forestation of semi-arid lands.
- Israel has a great deal of innovation in the field of smart transportation, with a focus on energy efficiency of electric vehicles, smart systems for the autonomous vehicles of the future, as well as two-wheeled cooperative transportation projects in major cities.
- Israel has a growing number of companies and startups engaged in the developing field of carbon capture and storage, both in direct capture of carbon dioxide from the air and in nature-based solutions such as the restoration of wetlands and moist habitats.
- Many Israeli startups and companies are committed to the modeling of a circular economy to maximize industrial material usage and increase recycling capacity. Alternative material innovations include biodegradable plastic, environmentally friendly concrete, material created using algae and more.
- In Israel, there are close to 150 active civil society organizations in the environmental and climate fields
There is a very large variety of climate innovation examples in Israel that exceeds what has been detailed here, although key fields which are in great demand globally are covered.