The cabinet on Sunday approved an ambitious plan to plant 450,000 trees in urban areas to provide shade and help stave off colder temperatures as the climate changes.
The target is to be achieved between now and 2040 and cost an estimated NIS 2.25 billion ($716 million). Trees would be planted along the road for about 30,000 kilometers (18,640 mi), yielding about 150 trees per kilometer.
The plan was placed in the cabinet by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Minister of Environmental Protection Tamar Zandberg and Minister of Agriculture Oded Forer.
“The Israeli government has set climate as a national goal,” Bennett said. “More than 90 percent of the country’s residents live in urban communities, and the warmer the climate, the more difficult it is to move outside.
“That’s why we’re preparing to plant about half a million trees along all the roads in the cities we pass through.”
The tree shade dramatically improves the temperature conditions on the road, while also helping to improve air quality and absorb the intense rain of rain, he said.
Ultra-Orthodox families picnic under the shade of trees at Sacher Park in Jerusalem during their summer vacation on July 26, 2019. (Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)
Zandberg said cities need more shade, tree and nature-based solutions to tackle climate change, and it is time for a government decision that will ensure that urban planning adapts to changing climate conditions.
Forer said the plan would achieve a dual purpose – protecting the environment and improving urban space.
The decision is based on the report of an inter-ministerial committee headed by the National Economic Council within the Prime Minister’s Office for a year. In addition to the ministries, the committee also included representatives from NGOs and the Planning and Building Council.
Mature trees are supported by a concrete envelope at a construction site in the German Colony neighborhood of Jerusalem on June 12, 2013. (Zuzana Janku/Flash 90)
Next steps include mapping the current tree cover in cities and towns, encouraging local authorities to plan for climate change, including urban tree plantation, securing the necessary funding, creating a user-friendly digital platform that will, among other things together will be made public. Request to update the Green Building Rules, taking into account the cutting of trees, and taking into account the existing trees and the possibilities of planting additional saplings.
One objective is to create 100 local authorities with urban forestry plans by 2030.
The ministries concerned are to work together on a funding proposal for the 2023-2024 budget.
