Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced on October 29 that he will be representing Israel at this year’s United Nations climate conference, COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Report informs referring to The Times of Israel.
Speaking to the Israeli delegation to the confab at the President’s Residence, Herzog said he would attend during the second week following a visit to the US, citing the importance of climate change and of building regional cooperation at a time when the “axis of evil [Iran and its proxies] is trying to close us in from all directions.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not expected in Baku.
Herzog told the gathering of government officials, businesspeople, academics, and representatives of civil society organizations and 20 climate tech startups chosen to represent the country that while some believed it was inappropriate to discuss the climate crisis while the country was at war, the opposite was true.
The security situation only emphasized the need to decentralize the country’s electricity system (to protect it from attack), ensure food security and water supply, and preserve open spaces and nature, he went on. Climate change “isn’t going anywhere,” he added.
The president said it was critical for Israel to pass a climate bill that committed the government to “obligatory targets” on reducing global warming emissions.