Herzog to establish Israeli Climate Change Forum

Herzog, who is extremely concerned about the climate crisis, has appointed former MK Dov Khenin to head the forum.

 Israel's President Isaac Herzog is seen addressing the Jerusalem Post annual conference at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, on October 12, 2021. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Israel's President Isaac Herzog is seen addressing the Jerusalem Post annual conference at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem, on October 12, 2021.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)

In advance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference that will be taking place in Glasgow in the first week of November, President Isaac Herzog announced on Wednesday that he will establish an Israeli Climate Change Forum under his patronage.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will be among hundreds of world leaders attending the conference. He is due to leave Israel on October 31 accompanied by Energy Minister Karin Elharar and Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg. Bennett will present some Israeli initiatives at the conference and will also meet with several foreign leaders.

Herzog, who is extremely concerned about the climate crisis, has appointed former MK Dov Henin to head the forum, which will work closely with the Life & Environment organization – the umbrella organization for about 130 organizations and institutions working in the realm of climate change and researching its effects.

BIRDS FLY near factory emissions n Tangshan, China, in 2016. Waskow emphasizes the importance of using religion to fight climate change (credit: KIM KYUNG-HOON/FILE PHOTO/ REUTERS)
BIRDS FLY near factory emissions n Tangshan, China, in 2016. Waskow emphasizes the importance of using religion to fight climate change (credit: KIM KYUNG-HOON/FILE PHOTO/ REUTERS)

Henin, 63, while still a legislator, was one of the first people to raise the issue of climate change at the Knesset.

Herzog spoke of climate change in the course of his inaugural address to the Knesset and stated that it is one of the areas to which he would give priority.

The establishment of the forum will indicate Israel’s commitment to stand at the forefront of global discussions on the climate crisis and to create awareness, among local and global leaders, of the urgency in sharing information and finding solutions, the president said.

The Environment and Climate Change portal is produced in cooperation with the Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The Jerusalem Post maintains all editorial decisions related to the content.