Sustainability is of central importance for the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung worldwide. In Israel, KAS is also active in this field, organizing conferences and seminars, as well as publishing documentations. First of all, we intend to intensify debates on issues related to the environment, climate change and energy policy. Moreover, we want to enhance not only cooperation between Germany and Israel but between Israel and its neighbours. On this page, KAS Israel presents information about our "green" projects and commitment.
Past Events
- A roundtable discussion proved that the topic of “Green Cities” easily draws the attention of a wide audience. In cooperation with the Union of Local Authorities in Israel (ULAI) the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Israel organized that public event on November 12, which was part of this year's Israeli-German Sister Cities Conference in Jerusalem. Mayors from both countries specifically discussed the importance of civic engagement at the local level for a sustainable development.
- A workshop jointly organized by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) on August 27, 2012 provided a dialogue on the “Role of incentives and disincentives in creating effective environmental policy and promoting good environmental behavior in the shared environment of Israel and Palestine”. The event aimed to initiate an open exchange between both Israeli and Palestinian representatives from politics, science and civil society as well as to facilitate cross-border cooperation in the medium and long run.
- On April 22, 2012, KAS Israel and the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI) brought together Palestinian and Israeli representatives from the business sector, academia, administrations, politics and the civil society. They participated in a workshop that addressed the issue of energy efficiency in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. Eventually, recommendations for action were developed.
- Debating environmental protection and climate change is no prerogative for scientists and politicians. Those topics are also of relevance to the interfaith dialogue. On March 19, 2012, KAS Israel and the Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development hosted the „Interfaith Climate and Energy Conference“. Representatives from various world religions proposed and discussed their views on sustainability, the energy turnaround and climate change. A video conveys their appeal to preserve the creation.
- Israel is known as a high-tech location in terms of solar energy. On March 18, 2012, researchers and energy consultants met for a conference on the Sde Boker campus of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. They discussed the potential of renewable energy in general and also remarked on energy security. An Israeli energy strategy as well as European interests were of specific interests. In the end, Prof. David Faiman (Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research) and Severin Fischer (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik) recapitulate the results of our symposium.
- Managing the energy turnaround with the help of renewable energies is not only a topic on the German political agenda. Likewise, the supply with regenerative energy sources such as solar and wind becomes ever more significant also in the United States, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. For that reason, the KAS Office in Washington, D.C., organized an intensive exchange program and invited an Israeli-Palestinian delegation from March 5-9, 2012.
- What kind of role do architecture and urban planning play when it comes to adapting to climate change and energy efficient housing? KAS Israel and ECOWEEK 2012 raised exactly this question during a hands-on workshop and a public forum from February 29 to March 1, 2012.
- In February and April 2012, KAS Israel together with the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel implemented workshops on Environmental edcuation - a cross-cutting task (publication in German). Participants of this event series were students from primary and secondary schools of Ma'alot, a community in northern Israel.
- On February 6, 2012, KAS Israel and the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Strategic Dialogue hosted a roundtable discussion with policy experts from Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories on "Water - a Connecting Element".
Reports and Documentations
- Compared to other policy sectors, environmental policy in Israel has a tough job. The security situation in the region, the unresolved conflict with the Palestinians, the tensions within society and the socioeconomic challenges overshadow seemingly softer policy areas. It will take valiant efforts to ensure that thinking and acting to further sustainable development will achieve wider acceptance in politics and society. Dr. Nadine Mensel takes a look at what is at stake and contributed to KAS International Reports 5/2013.
- Around Easter and Pesach nature finally seems to have ended its winter dormancy, believers and non-believers alike feel a sense of relief and gratitude. What do the Bible and the Jewish Sages have to say about that experience, and what has the collective wisdom of the world’s religions to contribute to a new “ecological awareness”? We asked Rabbi Yonathan Neril, Founder and Executive Director of The Interfaith Center for Sustainable Development, to give us his views how environmental stewardship transcends politics.
- Targeted and efficient policies tackling the effects of climate change were introduced relatively late and with hesitation in Israel. For a long time, security related and economic topics had priority on the political agenda. Nevertheless, the urgency for a responsible and sustainable climate policy has become an important issue in public debates. Natural desasters such as the forest fires in the Carmel Mountains (2010) and the increase in extreme weather conditions have led to new environmental awareness and political initiatives. A report by KAS remarks on Israel's answers to climate change (in German).