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Jarred Abrahams

Why a Stable Democracy Is Critical for a Stable Climate

Not a dull moment in our corner of the world: The government has been struggling to pass a ‘Climate Act’ over the past few weeks, while the Supreme Court is about to hear an historic climate case against the government’s inaction. “Green Course”, “School Strike for Climate” and many other signatories are claiming that the government is violating our ‘Basic-Law’ for Human Dignity and Liberty by not upholding the international treaty on climate change: The Paris Agreement. All this due to the tireless efforts of Israelis, young and old, demanding climate action despite – and even in light of – current events.

We know all too well that where governments fail, we see the importance of other institutions of democracy in safeguarding the public good. While many speak about it in the past tense, in recent weeks the Judicial Overhaul has come back to prominence. In stark contrast with the so called “Salami Method” of smaller slices of anti-democratic legislation that we have seen since the war began, its main proponent, Yariv Levin, used a Houthi attack on the Prime Minister’s residence as a springboard to justify reviving in full force the entire project, with a focus on the selection of Supreme Court Justices. Recently, he was caught on tape saying “the time has come” to approve the bill that would allow the Knesset, as opposed to the Judicial Selection Committee, to elect the president of the Supreme Court. The attack on Israel’s democratic institutions has not gone anywhere, and the ramifications reach far and wide.

Many of the reasons about how these proposed changes to Israel’s democracy will negatively impact our lives have been covered widely, especially before October 7th and the ensuing war. But one critical aspect was largely ignored – the planet and its ecosystems that enable us to live in safety and in health. As we all know, elected governments have an inherent challenge: they are elected by a majority of the population, but sometimes that majority wants to do something that impacts a minority or a public good. It is for this exact reason democracies established the concept of ‘Separation of Powers’ and constitutions. Our environment is one of these public goods that is so often exploited by governments, and why we must strive for a strong democracy in order to protect it (and in doing so, protect ourselves).

Meanwhile, the Knesset has also been dealing with the passage of Israel’s Climate Act. Before you get too excited, it is an embarrassingly weak piece of legislation that many of Israel’s leading environmentalists have strongly criticised. At the time of writing this article the bill has not yet been finalized, but despite the endless political lobby (with some significant successes) by Green Course and other environmental organizations to strengthen it, in a nutshell, it lacks teeth. Despite Israel committing through international frameworks to limit warming to 1.5 degrees, it is passing legislation that will push us way beyond that limit, and will significantly impact our health, livelihoods and security.

The need for bold climate action doesn’t just disappear because of a war or the breakdown of democracy. It is not like a sports match, when it rains you can take a time-out and wait for the skies to clear. The little molecules floating around in our atmosphere don’t care about who is killing whom, or who decides the makeup of a panel of judges. And to make matters worse, the polluting industries are taking on the well known adage of “never let a good crisis go to waste” by cynically using the war as an excuse to expand their activities. Unfortunately, we do not have the privilege to wait. We must stand up to the fossil fuel lobby and the politicians who are in their pockets in order to safeguard our citizens, the environment in which we live and the democracy that governs us.

Additionally, the war brings about its own environmental and climate impacts, on both sides of the border. Some of these impacts are direct, others are cascading effects of the ongoing conflict. Firstly, large amounts of transport and ammunition requires fossil fuels, increasing our carbon emissions in order to conduct the war. Ecosystems and infrastructure in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon have been destroyed beyond comprehension in a region that is already resource scarce, leading to a humanitarian crisis in which residents have limited access to clean drinking water, food and energy. The reconstruction efforts will also demand a lot of resources in order to build back communities that have been destroyed. The war itself has also made it increasingly difficult for communities, businesses and governments to prioritise climate and environmental action due to the war demanding so much of our focus and resources. The public is paying double – with our safety because of the war, and with our health because of the lack of environmental protection.

Now, what can people do when their governments fail to uphold their basic rights as citizens? Take them to court, of course. This is exactly what Green Course, School Strike for Climate and many other signatories are doing, and we are claiming that by not passing a real ‘Climate Act’, the government is violating our ‘Basic-Law’ for Human Dignity and Liberty. The landmark case will be heard on Thursday, 16th of December and echoes similar historic cases from around the world; in the US, Europe and as far as Australia.

This case is clear: It is the judges’ moral and legal obligation to side with the petitioners, and protect our future generations against the government’s shortsighted political interests.

About the Author
Jarred Abrahams is a Community Organizing Manager at Green Course, an Israeli environmental organization.
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