LettersIsrael ready to share its environmental innovations as world stages a green recovery from Covid-19

The pandemic has presented us with an opportunity to pursue economic recovery programmes that incorporate strong sustainability and low-carbon measures

From reforestation and water recycling to irrigation and lab-grown meat, Israel is at the forefront of climate innovation and sustainability

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A murmuration of starlings fly near Beersheba, southern Israel, on December 22, 2020. Photo: Reuters

Published: 12:30am, 24 Apr 2021Updated: 12:30am, 24 Apr 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has presented us with one of the most acute challenges of our generation. It has also presented us with a unique opportunity to pursue economic recovery programmes that incorporate strong sustainability and low-carbon measures. The world could effectively use the exit from Covid-19 to accelerate a green transition; the commemoration of this year’s Earth Day has thus taken on an even deeper meaning.

There is a link between environmental crises, climate change and the novel coronavirus. Experts have found that global warming has led to the emergence of new infectious zoonotic diseases, such as Covid-19, meaning that our current pandemic is most probably tied to the grim environmental situation of our planet. This should serve as a strong and urgent call to action for all of us.

When it comes to climate innovation and sustainability, Israel can serve both as an example and as a provider of solutions to global problems.

Facing arid and water-scarce conditions, Israel combined its entrepreneurial and problem-solving spirit to make the country a leader in the field of environmental innovation. Drip irrigation and the development of resistant, fortified crops are technologies that were originally developed in Israel.

Israel is also at the forefront of one of the world’s latest trends in sustainability: animal protein replacements. Innovative Israeli companies have successfully produced lab-grown protein that is almost indistinguishable from high-quality meat, and have even grown real meat from animal cells in a lab.

Israel’s Aleph Farms has developed a 3D-printed rib-eye steak. Photo: Handout

Israel also happens to be a global water powerhouse, holding the world record for water reuse with almost 90 per cent of its waste water recycled for use in agriculture. It has one of the most unique national water systems in the world, with some 80 per cent of its drinking water being desalinated saltwater.