A proposed Clean Air Law recently passed its first reading—part of a growing trend of environmental legislation in the past several years, owing to increasing awareness among decision makers and the public along with the proliferation of environmental threats. The right to environmental quality is earning its place alongside other basic social rights. On the institutional level, this is expressed in the draft Constitution being formulated by the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee of the Knesset, which makes reference to the right to a safe, healthy, and suitable environment.
In some cases, the environmental legislation stems from Israel's obligations as a signatory to various international conventions, for example on the subjects of marine pollution and preservation of the ozone layer.
Marine Pollution
The International Convention for the Prevention of Seawater Pollution by Oil (1954) was the earliest acknowledgment of the problem of marine pollution. It was joined in November 1973 by the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, known today as MARPOL 73/78. MARPOL was intended to halt deliberate pollution of the seas and reduce to a minimum the leakage of pollutants into the oceans as a result of maritime accidents.
Israel enacted laws and empowered bodies to enforce them, in accordance with the issues cited in the protocols and annexes of the MARPOL Convention, as follows:
- Discharging of oil – The Sea and Beaches Division of the Ministry of Environmental Protection enforces the ban on the discharge of oil or oily substances into the sea in keeping with the Prevention of Seawater Pollution by Oil Ordinance 5740-1980.
- Regulations for loading and discharging are stipulated in the code for handling dangerous goods (IMDG Code); the Code's provisions are enforced by the Shipping and Ports Authority of the Ministry of Transport.
- Disposal of sewage from vessels into the sea – In preparation for legislation in this area, the Sea and Beaches Division of the Environmental Protection Ministry produced a detailed booklet containing guidelines for the establishment, operation, and maintenance of sanitary facilities on small vessels and the manner of disposing sewage water.
- Ban on dumping waste at sea – The Maintenance of Cleanliness Law 5744-1984 is enforced by the Sea and Beaches Division of the Environmental Protection Ministry.
The Convention contains additional Annexes on other topics (such as the criteria for releasing liquid chemicals being transported by ship) that have not yet been enshrined in law in Israel.
Mediterranean Basin - Safeguarding Our Sea
In 1975, Israel became a signatory to another convention dealing with marine conservation: the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). UNEP initiated the Regional Seas Programme, and selected the Mediterranean as the first sea to be examined. The geographic significance of the Mediterranean Sea lies in the fact that it links three continents and connects developed states with developing ones. Likewise, it was in an extremely poor state due to overuse: In one year, 460 tons of crude oil were transported through it, and 80% of regional sewage found its way there. As a result, the Mediterranean Sea was showing signs of distress.
Accordingly, the Barcelona Conference was convened in 1975, with the participation of the states bordering the Mediterranean Sea (excluding Albania), all of which signed the Barcelona Convention. The Convention offered a legal and judicial framework for implementing the Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP).
In April 1978, the State of Israel ratified the Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution. This Convention was amended, and in June 1995 became the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment and the Coastal Region of the Mediterranean. An amendment to the Convention was ratified by Israel in 2005. The Barcelona Convention established strict regulations aimed at allowing inspection of the Mediterranean Sea. It prohibited the discharge of oil into the sea, and limited the dumping of waste as well as pollution by sewage from land-based sources.
As a result of its obligations under the Convention, Israel passed a series of laws and regulations in the 1980s in addition to the amendments made in 1971 to the Water Law. The real problem—a lack of funding to implement and enforce the laws—was partly solved with the passage of the Prevention of Seawater Pollution by Oil Ordinance (New Version) 5740-1980, which included a provision for establishing an independent fund for the prevention of marine pollution; its sources of income are the levies and fines stipulated in the Ordinance.
Saving the Ozone
In November 1987, 46 states including Israel signed the Montreal Protocol, which relates to substances that deplete the ozone layer. The Protocol calls for a reduction in the production and consumption of materials that cause ozone depletion, and imposes sanctions on states that are not a party to it. Israel ratified the Protocol in 1992, and as part of its obligations, the Ministry of Environmental Protection prepared a report five years later on the consumption of materials that deplete the ozone layer. In addition, the Hazardous Substances Regulations 5764-2004 were drawn up.
Earth Summit - The Climate Convention
In November 1996, Israel signed a Convention formulated in June 1992 at one of the more important conferences on climate change, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The gathering, known as the Earth Summit, produced a document entitled the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), otherwise referred to as the Climate Convention.
The requirements laid out in the Convention were limited primarily to collecting data on climate, conducting research, and raising public awareness. The signatory states committed to work toward stabilizing the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, recording sources of emission within their borders, and adopting policies to mitigate damage to the environment. The document classifies the signatory states into developed, or industrialized, states, which contribute a greater share of greenhouse gases and which have the economic and institutional resources to treat the problem, and developing states (Israel is listed in the latter category).
In 1997, the Ministry of Environmental Protection took steps in several areas as a consequence of the Climate Convention:
- A report was produced on greenhouse gas emissions in Israel and methods of removing these gases from the atmosphere.
- An interministerial team was set up to shape Israel's policy on greenhouse gases.
- A policy paper was produced on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and more efficient use of energy.
Kyoto Conference - Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
In 1998, Israel signed the Kyoto Protocol, which it ratified in February 2004. The Protocol was produced at a conference in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, known as the Kyoto Conference, whose purpose was to establish a binding protocol for reducing emissions of six major greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. As part of the protocol, a proportional reduction quota for greenhouse gas emissions was determined for each state: for the states of the European Union, 8%; the United States, 7%, Japan, 6%, and so on.
Israel is not classified by the Climate Convention as a developed nation, and is therefore not bound by these limitations in practice; nonetheless, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has expressed a desire to adopt targets for emission reduction. It will be interesting to monitor the impact of Israel's future membership in the OECD on its obligations under the Kyoto Convention.
Shadow Report
In preparation for the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002, the organization known as Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) initiated the preparation of a shadow report to be submitted alongside the official report of the Israeli government. It emerged from the alternative report that Israel has a large amount of knowledge that is not being translated into environmental awareness and policy. Often, this is due to political and bureaucratic stumbling blocks, since in Israel greater value is attached to developing the environment than to preserving it. The government report also identified numerous failings in this area, which it openly criticized; but the important point raised by the shadow report is the lack of significant readiness to solve the problems.
The fact that Israel has signed international conventions on environmental issues indicates a growing awareness in this area and a commitment on the part of the government to improving the situation. But becoming a signatory in and of itself is not enough. What is needed are legislation and enforcement that will translate the content of the conventions into action. Actualizing the obligations contained in the conventions will bring Israel in line with the developed states, which have placed environmental concerns squarely on their agenda.
Naomi Himeyn Raisch is a Research Assistant at the IDI and an M.A. student at the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.