Policy and Advocacy

Jewish communities in the US and UK have the opportunity to speak up in their own countries, and to support positive change in Israel.

In the US and the UK Jewish communities have an opportunity to speak up nationally on environmental issues, but we have relatively little clout overall. Where possible the community should be part of multi-faith coalitions arguing for stronger climate change policies.

Jewish communities can and should have more impact locally, and should seek to implement policy changes within cities and states. Our communities will learn that environmental justice is the belief that no community should have to bear the brunt of a disproportionate amount of environmental burdens and not enjoy any environmental benefits.

What We Have: Jewish Policy and Advocacy      

Where We Are: What is Going on Now

The Israeli environmental movement has been successful in recent years, with relatively few financial and organizational resources. Organizations including the Hechel Center, Adam Teva V'Din, SPNI, and the Arava Institute have scored major legislative victories in areas including coastal development, ocean ecosystem protection and urban planning. Diaspora Jewish communities could influence significant world change by supporting the Israeli environmental organizations.

Climate Legislation in the USA

COEJL, Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, had until recently a  Jewish environmental voice on Capitol Hill lobbying for climate change legislation. Synagogues can affiliate with groups like Inter-faith Light and Power and support ILP's effective lobbying campaigns. Advocates for Jewish ideals like The Shalom Center (Reb Arthur Waskow) have been thought-leaders for many years. The next phase of this work should amplify these positions, where appropriate. Ideally we need to find ways to integrate the work of the Jewish environmental organizations and movement with the federations and mainstream institutions. The increasingly close working relationships in NY between, e.g., Isabella Freedman, Teva and Hazon, on the one hand, and UJA-Federation of NY and the JCC in Manhattan, on the other, is a model for this.

The Food Bill
Hazon (could/should/wants to/will?) spearhead a campaign to provide Jewish ethical and policy input to the 2014 US Farm Bill. The thrust will be towards cutting subsides for industrial mono-crop production, supporting local and organic food, and reducing the American food systems dependence on fossil fuels. (Today US food production and transportation contributes between 25% and 37% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions.)

Transportation Policy
Hazon will expand its efforts to advocate and lobby for more sustainable US transport alternatives including increased mass transit, additional bicycle lanes and other livable streets initiatives, etc.

Economy
The move to a green economy requires the creation of new green jobs. Jewish Funds for Justice has begun a campaign in the Jewish community to support job training and the creation of new entry level green jobs at a livable wage.

Vision for the Next Generation: Jewish Environmental Policy and Advocacy

• The Israeli environmental community together with Diaspora Jewish education should campaign for binding carbon limiting legislation that will cut Israel's emissions 20% by 2020 and 90% by 2048.
• Israel's environmental organizations and clean energy companies combine to lobby the government for a significant feed-in tariff for renewable energy, and substantial investment in Israel's world-leading clean-energy technologies and companies.
• There is a significant Jewish environmental voice on Capitol Hill lobbying for climate change legislation.

Jewish Policy and Advocacy Goals for Generational Change: September 2015

Attention
In order to effectively devote attention to advocacy, every organization in the Jewish community should commit 1.8% of its time and budget to pursuing changes in American public policy through community organizing, lobbying, public vigils, religious celebrations with an activist component, and other such means to join in a concerted effort to make this Jewish vision of healing the world into practical reality.
Voice
Jewish communities should be a leading voice worldwide in speaking out for policies that will help avert climate change, rebalance the environment, promote sustainability and ecological destruction, bring about environmental justice.

Climate Legislation in the State of Israel

The State of Israel should adopt ambitious energy and environmental policies that place it at the forefront of the global campaign to avert climate change

The State of Israel, the world's only Jewish state is starting to join the world effort to combat climate change. It needs to act, not just as a demographically Jewish country but as one that bears responsibility for implementing a well-established Jewish ethic for environmental stewardship. This is an issue that needs to be addressed by Rabbinical leaders in Israel as well as by the national government.

Building on the efforts of the Heschel Center and the Israel Union for Environmental Defence, the Israeli environmental community should adopt binding carbon limiting legislation that will cut Israel's emissions 20% by 2020 and 90% by 2048.

Electricity accounts for the vast majority of Israel’s greenhouse gas emissions - reduction efforts should focus in this sector.  Because of its total reliance fossil fuels, 63% of Israel’s greenhouse gas emissions come from its electric power plants – three quarters of which burn coal - the most GHG intensive fuel in use today. In the light of this the main components of climate change policy in Israel need to be:

• Energy conservation measures that can lead to immediate reductions in electricity and petrol consumption.
• Dramatic changes in the sources of electrical power in the country. Israel needs a no new coal power stations policy. Ambitious objectives for Israel are realistic. Denmark already takes 25% of its energy from renewable sources (largely wind) and anticipates 50% levels by 2025. Given its optimal location for solar power generation, Israel should declare an objective of generating 40% of its energy from renewables by 2020, and energy independence by 2050.
• Carbon Price. There should be an economy-wide price on carbon so that climate costs become incorporated into business and governmental decision-making. We favor a carbon tax as the simplest, most transparent method.
• Transport Policy. Transportation produces some 19% of Israel’s greenhouse emissions. Taxes for new automobiles, already over 100% should be tiered to reflect the fuel efficiency of vehicles.  Public transportation, already subsidized should be even more so. Congested fees should be adopted for Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  Laws and subsidies should encourage greater use of bicycles, walking and public transport.
• Afforestation Policy. It should be noted that this is, on the whole, a significant success of Israeli environmental policy. The State of Israel is the only country in the world with a positive tree balance over the past century. The methods by which this was accomplished could be exported to other countries struggling with deforestation.

Clean Energy Policy in Israel

Israel's environmental organizations and clean energy companies should combine to lobby the government for a significant feed-in tariff for renewable energy, and substantial investment in Israel's world-leading clean-energy technologies and companies. US Jewish organizations should support Israeli ecology movement in lobbying. Some proportion of US government aid should be funneled into sustainable power projects including cross-border peace-building initiatives.