Case Study
INDC
Formulation of a national greenhouse gas reduction target
> Client: Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection
> Implementation period: 2014 - 2015
> Geographic coverage: Israel
> Theme: Climate change, GHG assessment, Energy, Energy assessment.
Context
In 2015, prior to the COP21 held in Paris, all countries had to publicly present their “Intended Nationally Determined Contribution” (INDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
These INDCs identified the post-2020 voluntary national climate targets, for both mitigation and adaptation, as part of the adoption of the Paris Agreement.
To recommend a national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target for 2030, as well as GHG mitigation actions, that will serve as a basis of Israel’s INDC.
Objective
Project
EcoTraders led a team of local and international experts that, through a multi-stakeholder process, carried out the following tasks:
• Development of an updated projection of GHG emissions and energy consumption under a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario through 2030.
• Qualitative analysis to identify the key technological abatement measures most relevant to Israel.
• Quantitative analysis of the abatement measures to determine both their abatement potential and their economic impacts (using a social-cost approach), and in particular to determine the abatement cost of each measure.
• Particular attention was paid to the power and transport sectors, which are responsible for some 75% of GHG emissions in Israel. More details on the energy methodology can be found in the corresponding case study “Development of Israel’s energy targets”.
• Development of two different target scenarios based on uptake of the identified abatement measures:
(a) a conservative target scenario, which could be achieved solely through the implementation of cost-effective abatement measures without a price of carbon,
(b) an ambitious target scenario, which includes the implementation of all the abatement measures that were found to be feasible, including a number of measures that are not cost effective without accounting for a price of carbon.
• The implementation of the conservative target is expected to yield significant benefits to the Israeli economy (net of associated costs), totaling an estimated NIS 218 billion (present value).
• On the basis of the analysis, the Government of Israel committed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 7.7 tCO2e (tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) per capita by 2030. This constitutes a reduction of 26% below the 2005 GHG emissions level of 10.4 tCO2e per capita. An interim target of 8.8 tCO2e was determined for 2025.
• The Government of Israel further committed to targets of 17% energy efficiency, 17% renewable electricity generation and 20% private transport reduction in 2030.
• On Sept. 29, 2015, the Israeli government submitted its official GHG reduction target to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.