Environmental protection is gaining new prominence in Israel.

In all the major specialist areas linked to the environment Israel has set ambitious goals, passed laws and introduced numerous funding programmes. Cleantech embraces:

• Sustainable water resource management
• Renewable energies, energy efficiency, energy storage
• Renewable materials, efficient use of resources and materials, including waste management and recycling
• Sustainable agriculture and forestry
• Measurement technology, removal of environmental contamination, filter systems
• Sustainable mobility
• Replacement of conventional industrial processes with biological processes
• Production of energy from biomass

Current thrusts of action include:

• Reduction of CO2 emissions: The aim is to achieve a reduction of 20%
  (annually 21 million t) by 2020. To this end, a new clean air law was introduced on 1.1.2011.
  Funding programme: Scrapping bonuses of several hundred million Swiss Francs for old air-conditioning units and fridges and investment incentives for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in industry, trade and the public sector, etc. are available
• Obligation to recycle packaging material. The Packaging Management Law of 31.1.2011 obliges industrial firms and import businesses to collect and recycle up to 60% (as from 2020 100%) of packaging material.
• Waste separation and recycling of domestic refuse:
  Households account for 4.2 million t of the total 6 million t of solid refuse. This amounts to 590 kg per head. Industry recycles around 25%, households only 13%. Today in Israel only about 21% of all waste is recycled, the rest goes to landfill and causes yearly costs of more than 300 million Swiss Francs. Funding programme: The environment ministry is investing in a special program for waste separation and recycling of domestic refuse. The program is implemented in 46 cities and districts with approx. 2 million inhabitants.
• Waste water treatment:
  The new regulations of 25.1.2010 specify much lower permissible limits than the old regulations and lays down 37 different parameters for residues in waste water.