President of the State of Israel Isaac Herzog in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 5, 2021

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has announced the formation of the Israeli Climate Forum, which will deal with Israel’s potential role in solving the problems caused by climate change.

“The creation of the forum will symbolize the State of Israel’s commitment to standing at the forefront of the global discussion of the climate crisis,” the president’s announcement stated, Israeli news site Walla reported.

It added that the forum would work to raise awareness of the crisis among Israeli leaders.

It will include representatives from all parts of Israeli society, including the government, Knesset, academia, local authorities, and the business community.

The forum will be led by former MK Dov Khenin, who commented, “We, in the world and in Israel, are in a race against time to deal with a climate crisis that endangers the lives of us all. Here, the president is doing what he can with the power of his office: to bring in all of the authorities for an honest and serious discussion of the challenges and the solutions.”

He called on all of Israel’s decision-makers to “learn from this example, to ask themselves what they can do, and exercise their authority in order to advance the urgent changes that we require now.”

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is set to attend the upcoming United Nations climate change summit in Glasgow, to be joined by Energy Minister Karine Elharrar and Environment Minister Tamar Zandberg.