Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz is seen during a quadrilateral Ministerial Summit in Nicosia, Cyprus, Dec. 5, 2017. Photo: Reuters / Yiannis Kourtoglou.

JNS.org – Israel’s Energy Ministry on Monday announced the country plans to reduce carbon emissions by 7.5 percent within the next ten years.

The ministry also recommended an interim goal of an 11 percent improvement in energy efficiency by 2025, compared to 2015 (which would work out to an average 1.2 percent improvement per year) and an 18 percent improvement by 2030.

“The new goal links energy consumption to the amount of products and services in the country,” the ministry said in a statement.

“It is appropriate for Israel, where the population growth rate and economic growth are among the highest in OECD nations. In addition, these criteria allow us to compare ourselves to other countries,” said the statement.

Hitting these targets would reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by some 7.5 percent in 2030, according to the ministry.

The emissions plan comes in addition to the government’s decision to transition to 100% renewable energy sources by 2030.

According to Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, “The global climate crisis demands that we make major changes in our living habits, especially the ways in which we produce and consume energy. Through groundbreaking plans, we not only reduce the rise in energy demand, we also make Israel into a nexus of development and implementation of advanced technologies and methods that will allow Israeli companies to break into new markets all over the world.”

This article first appeared in Israel Hayom.