Israel’s Environmental Sustainability Declines Despite Some Improvements, New Report Shows
The Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) released its 2024 Sustainability Capital Index report, assessing Israel’s long-term preservation of natural, human, social, and economic capital that underpin quality of life. The report evaluates around 100 indicators aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, measuring not only economic growth but also the conservation or depletion of natural resources, social trust, education, health, infrastructure, and innovation.
According to the CBS, 47% of the indicators showed improvement, 25% worsened, and 28% remained stable. However, the natural capital category revealed a troubling picture: only 38.5% of natural capital indicators improved, while 30.8% deteriorated. Key natural resources such as land, ecosystems, water, air, and biodiversity are under severe threat. Biodiversity metrics showed declines in natural area size, diversity, and continuity across Israel’s Mediterranean forests, coastal zones, and loess plains over the past decade, with only species population numbers remaining stable. This reflects ongoing habitat loss due to accelerated construction, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change.
Air quality indicators show some reductions in pollutants like PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide, yet exceed legal limits almost daily nationwide and in major cities. Exposure to fine particulate matter surpasses targets by over threefold. Renewable energy production has steadily increased but remains low at about 13% of electricity generation, far below the OECD average of 30% and government targets, despite Israel’s abundant sunshine.
Climate data reveal a roughly 2-degree Celsius rise in average and extreme temperatures since 2000, along with altered rainfall patterns causing droughts and intense storms. Greenhouse gas emissions per capita and energy supply remain relatively stable but still require global reductions. Some resource stock data, such as phosphate and potash reserves, are outdated (last updated 2018). The report notably lacks social and health indicators related to heatwave impacts and pollution-related morbidity and mortality.
Professor Adi Wolfson, head of the Green Engineering master’s program at Sami Shamoon College of Engineering and author of environmental books, commented that the data confirm longstanding governmental neglect of nature, environmental quality, and public health in favor of unsustainable development. He expressed skepticism about the prospects of electing environmentally focused leadership in upcoming elections.
