Abstract
Since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel has been oriented towards economic development and industrialization, with a transportation sector increasingly focused on private cars. In 1961, initial awareness of environmental risks led to the adoption of the Abatement of Nuisances Law, which served as the platform for air pollution policy for several decades, even as population growth and growth of the industrial sector, including fossil fuel power plants, led to a continuous increase in air pollution. In the early 2000s, the environmental movement in Israel criticized local air pollution policy as being out of date and started to promote a new Clean Air Law. The law, which was adopted in 2008 and came into force in 2011, was a watershed in air pollution policy in Israel. It includes ambient air quality values for 28 contaminants, emission permits for the industrial sector based on best available techniques (BAT), an enforcement system, and a unified and transparent monitoring system. This paper reviews the history of air pollution policy in Israel from 1948, through the 1961 and 2008 landmark legislations and their strengths and weaknesses, to the present. The paper ends with recommendations for future air pollution policy in Israel.
Highlights
Exposure to air pollution is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality
It includes ambient air quality values for 28 contaminants, emission permits for the industrial sector based on best available techniques (BAT), an enforcement system, and a unified and transparent monitoring system
In 1972, under the Abatement of Nuisances Law, mandatory values were set for eight pollutants including carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H2 S), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2 ), lead, and particulate matter (PM) [8]
Summary
Exposure to air pollution is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. In order to improve public health, nations adopt public policies to regulate air pollution from anthropogenic stationary sources such as industry and power plants, and mobile sources such as vehicles. Air pollution policy is cost-effective; the benefits, especially reduced morbidity, reduced premature mortality, and saved working days, outweigh the costs. Established in 1948, and oriented towards development, industrialization and economic growth, Israel saw a continuous increase in air pollution before it started regulating this public health and environmental hazard. This paper reviews three phases in regulating air pollution in Israel: the first years (1948–1961), the legislation of the Abatement of Nuisances Law and the 47 years under that law (1961–2008), and the landmark legislation of Clean Air, Law including its main policy tools and case studies of the policy impact (2008–present).
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