Background and General Info

The EU and Israel share a long common history, marked by growing interdependence and cooperation. Within that framework, an EU Twinning project began at the end of May 2013, between Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) and Israel's Ministry of Environmental Protection (MoEP).

The aim of the project is the advancement of an Integrated Environmental Licensing Law, also called a "Green Licensing" Law, in the framework of Israel's National Green Growth Plan. In addition, it is aimed at improving an Environment Information System that will support Israel's newly established Pollution Release and Transfer Register, as well as a not-yet established Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control service center.

The project will run for 18 months, through December 2014.

The Twinning project contributes to the realization of two EU-Israel agreements that set specfic joint targets and indicated areas of cooperation in the field of environmental protection:

1. Association Agreement (2000): One of the aims of this agreement was the promotion of cooperation in areas of recipricol interest, including environmental protection.

The budget for the project, funded by the EU's ENPI (see above), is 900,000 Euro.

Overall Ojectives

The MoEP is leading Israel's move toward progressive environmental regulation, through the establishment of an integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) system. Such a system would reduce administrative burdens, improve environmental performances of industrial installations, and advance innovative green production technologies. The Law for Integrated Environmental Licensing ("Green Licensing" Law), being advanced by the MoEP, is a central means of implementing this process. Learn more.

The BMU, together with other German administrations, will guide Israel through the process of creating such a system, passing a Green Licensing Law, and improving environmental reporting systems. They will do this through the EU Twinning project, which gives German experts a platform through which to mentor the MoEP, and to share their knowledge, expertise, and experience.

Specific Goals

One of the key features of the Twinning project is the concept of mandatory results. Both the beneficiary and the EU partners commit themselves to work toward commonly agreed-upon, measurable and precise results.

The Israel-Germany Twinning project includes three components:

1. Support to the establishment and operation of an integrated permitting system
2. Support to the establishment and operation of an integrated inspection system
3. Support for improvement of the Environmental Information System through the establishment of a PRTR and a Service Centre for IPPC

The defined goals of the Israel-Germany Twinning project are:

1. Integrated system for permitting of industrial operations, ready for adoption and implementation
2. Integrated system for inspection of industrial operations, ready for adoption and implementation
3. Improvement of the environmental information system through a functioning PRTR; necessary prep work is to have been completed for the establishment of a  "green growth" knowledge center (also called an IPPC service center), where stakeholders can network and can collect and distribute knowledge about clean technology and green production

The advanced environmental regulation of industry is expected to lead to:

1. Prevention of environmental pollution from industrial installations in business management procedures of Israeli industry, through a system of permitting that focuses on pollution reduction at source and environmental efficiency
2. Significant improvement in transparency and raising of public awareness about the ability to influence the management of industrial installations and businesses
3. Reduction in environmental bureaucracy costs