Reducing Global Warming: Israel Presenting Solar Energy Solutions At UN Climate Change Conference

By Melanie Lidman, The Times of Israel November 29, 2015 2 minutes

Solar Panels via Wikipedia Commons/ US Air Force

This article was first published by The Times of Israel and was re-posted with permission.

Israel hopes to highlight its green technology expertise, with an emphasis on solar energy, as a major solution to global warming at the United Nations Climate Change talks in Paris on November 30, according to a member of the delegation.

The purpose of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) is to get all 166 UN member countries to sign a binding agreement that will keep global warming below an increase of two degrees Celsius over the next century. A global increase of two degrees is considered a tipping point that will lead to widespread environmental disasters. Hundreds of leaders will gather in Paris for the 11-day summit to try to hammer out a deal capping emissions for all countries and looking for creative solutions to halt the warming of the planet.

30 Year Old Dream Comes True With Israel’s Biggest Solar Power Plant via Wikipedia Commons/ US Air Force

“The main focus for the Israeli delegation is that Israeli innovation can help all countries achieve their development and reduction goals,” Josef Abramowitz, the president of solar company Gigawatt Global and part of the Israeli delegation, told The Times of Israel ahead of his trip.

Abramowitz is a pioneer in the Israeli solar energy industry with the Arava Power Company, which is responsible for many of the solar fields in the region. His company, Gigawatt Global, completed a solar field in Rwanda in February, the largest in eastern Africa.

The Israeli delegation must also explain why, despite their emphasis on technological expertise, Israel has only committed to 17 percent of energy coming from renewable sources by 2030. That figure is on par with other developed countries, but low for a country that claims to have such advanced technology. The government has claimed this is due to high security costs, the geopolitical situation, or lack of geothermal energy. The US is aiming for 28 percent of energy from renewable sources by 2030.