New BGU Research Center Seeks Solutions To Climate Change

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) has launched a new institute focused on climate change and creating new solutions to cope with the challenges it presents. 

The National Institution for Climate Policy Research aims to translate scientific understandings about climate change into evidence-based, policy solutions for business and government. 

The institute will be a part of the university’s School of Sustainability and Climate Change, and will be headed by former environmental protection minister Tamar Zandberg of the Meretz party. 

According to BGU, policy makers will be able to use the findings of the institute to help draft policies to deal with climate change. 

“Climate research and science in Israel and around the world are advancing rapidly, and we must design science derived policies that will affect reality in the most effective and shortest way possible,” said Zandberg. 

“The climate crisis is worse than we thought, and we have already reached the middle of the ‘decisive decade’ in which humanity must change direction. This means that we must act now but do it in the most appropriate way. In the near future, the Institute will emphasize the climate contexts of the renewed development of Israel and the region,” she said. 

“We saw a real need to translate scientific findings, the result of years of research, into specific policy measures, hence the decision to establish the institute. I am confident that we can maximize the environmental impact while ensuring scientific innovation tailored to the needs of society. Now, the goal is to inform decision makers about best practices,” said Prof. Yaron Ziv, head of BGU’s School of Sustainability and Climate Change.