Israeli environmental activism group Green Course revealed in its most recent survey that there is little effort among the majority of political parties to address climate change.
The questionnaire was part of the preparations for the Climate March, which will take place for the seventh year in a row on Friday, October 28, in Tel Aviv, with the participation of more than 10,000 people. The survey seeks to find out the parties' position on environmental, ecological and health issues with the aim of making them accessible to the public before the elections.
According to the survey of Israel's main political parties, only three have promised steps toward mitigating the Jewish state's role in the climate crisis - Meretz, Labor and Hadash-Ta'al - who answered the questionnaire “comprehensively.”
Yesh Atid and Yisrael Beitenu sent “the main points of their platform, which is also available online, along with a short response that echoes what is written in the platform.” National Unity, Shas and Torah Judaism sent “a very short response.” Ra'am and the right-wing parties - Likud and Religious Zionism - “ignored the questionnaire.”
The survey continued, "The environmental movement fears that after the elections there will not be enough candidates in the Knesset to lead a green policy." Based on statements from all of Israel's political parties, there are only 11 candidates who are likely to sit in the next Knesset and would lead environmental issues on behalf of their party, and not one from opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative bloc.
Likud, National Unity, Ra'am, Religious Zionism, Shas and the Jewish Home did not comment on who the designated candidates would be to deal with environmental issues.
Additionally, if Meretz and Labor participate in the formation of the government, Meretz said it would demand that the climate law be part of the new government's basic guidelines and would focus on allocating improvements to the current government bill.
The parties were also asked whether they supported the closure of the Haifa Bay petrochemical industries, and only four parties said that they did. Both Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman refuse to commit to a date.
Haifa residents have been campaigning for years to shut the complex down, due to significant air pollution that has led to illness.