Government to approve a plan to promote climate technologies before Israel is going for election

The government is expected to approve a plan by the Ministries of Science, Energy and Environmental Protection to promote climate technologies, even though Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has already decided to dissolve the Knesset. The scope of the program, which is based on team recommendations between ministries to promote technological innovation in the field of climate, is NIS 3 billion - and it will be submitted to the government for approval on Sunday.
The budget of the program comes from the budgets of the offices involved. The work of the headquarters is an initiative of the Minister of Energy, Karin Elharar, the Minister of Environmental Protection, Tamar Zandberg, and the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Orit Farkash HaCohen. The decision is based on a report by the inter-ministerial team and the Innovation Authority, and will include quantitative targets for encouraging innovation in the climate.
The purpose of the government's decision is to promote climate technologies in Israel, and to mobilize them to meet Israel's goals related to the climate crisis, using Israel's advantages in everything related to technological innovation. The report was based, among other things, on a previous report by the Innovation Authority and PLANETech, which mapped Israeli start-ups from various sectors, and examined whether they have innovative technologies in the field of climate.
The objectives included in the decision include doubling the number of applied studies, the number of registered patents (PCT), and the number of studies that have matured into a start-up or been transferred to an existing company in 2026, compared to 2021 data; Doubling the number of start-ups that rise each year from 55 in 2021 to 110 in 2026; And doubling the number of pilot projects carried out on state infrastructure from 35 to 70 in 2026.
Another goal is to increase the total amount of significant capital raising per year in the climate field - that is, raising more than $ 10 million - from $ 20 million in 2021 to $ 50 million in 2026; And establishing 10 venture capital funds that specialize in climate technologies, compared to one that exists today. Another goal is to double the number of foreign venture capital funds active in Israel that specialize in climate technologies (will make at least one transaction on average per year) from 20 in 2021 to 40 in 2026.
The recommendations of the inter-ministerial team include encouraging academic research, encouraging new ventures and promoting entrepreneurship, examining the government incentive in the areas of financing start-ups and climate growth companies, throughout the various stages, increasing government support for climate tech companies, promoting international collaborations and implementing climate technologies in Israel.
Farkash HaCohen said that "the way to meet the climate challenges and meet the goals set by the government is through the use of technology and harnessing Israeli innovation and high-tech. The focus of Israeli high-tech today is in areas such as communications, fintech and cyber, and less in climate, agrotech and energy. The government will strengthen these areas. "
Zandberg said that "the climate crisis is the most significant risk facing humanity. At the same time, it is a tremendous opportunity for the current generation to produce the solutions to deal with it, also for future generations. As it begins to be clear to everyone, beyond Israeli".
Elharar said that "the Ministry of Energy, together with our partners in the government, understand that the way to meet the challenging goals of the energy sector is through innovative technology. While it is estimated that about 45% of technologies implemented in 2050 have not yet been invented "We already have the technology to meet the goals by 2030. Only by cooperating between the ministries of the various regulators and creating platforms that enable the adoption of innovation will we meet the goal."