Israel's new minister of environmental protection, Tamar Zandberg of Meretz, has a very clear agenda. She had said that once she entered office, she would wage fierce fights over environmental issues, including some that could cause friction within the ideologically diverse new government or even with neighboring states.

She genuinely wanted this position and fought to get it. In a June 15 speech upon entering the ministry, she said that the new government must put environmental protection at the top of its agenda and at the center of of its activities. She wants to see Israel take environmental protection measures up a notch in recognition of the urgency of the climate crisis.

Zandberg wants the country to act quickly to develop the tools needed to handle the crisis. She made reference to what she called, “the US administration’s dramatic return to the Paris Climate Accords, which effected a shift in mood toward recognition of the real threat [climate change] poses to our lives. This is especially true in the Middle East, since this region is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Israel may be a tiny country, but its geographical location and the state of its economic development obligate us to make a big leap up to the next level, comparable to what the most advanced nations in the world are doing, even while we integrate into the region.”

Zandberg told Al-Monitor that she will take steps to implement the new government’s commitment, as laid out in its guidelines, to pass far-reaching climate legislation, including carbon pricing. She wants to see a tax on carbon imposed on factories, transportation and other carbon producers. She explained, “Worldwide, this has proven itself as the most effective means of reducing [carbon output]. In practice, Israel is one of the last countries in the OECD that has yet to introduce a carbon tax.”