McKinsey the famous consultants , have provided a document for the government entitled ‘climate crisis and the Israeli economy – challenges alongside opportunities.’
The document is 37 pages and I want to save the bother of reading it.
The Israeli economy is similar to any European economy, but we seem to be and average of 3-5 years behind . Take the UK – whether it is amount of renewable energy produced, number of electric cars, number of companies with ESG rating, the removal of coal power, and even general awareness of climate issues, we are behind. So far so dull.
Different sectors of the Israeli economy will be affected by rising temperatures to differing degrees. Most of us work in air-conditioned offices so the most we will suffer will be increased energy bills. McKinsey points out that tourism and agriculture need to adapt . The agriculture sector will need crops which thrive in hotter and more humid climates and with less predictable rainfall. The tourist industry in the Dead Sea and Eilat may struggle in the summer . Fine. My comments are that the Israeli agricultural sector has shown itself to highly adaptable and flexible over the years. Little worries there. It is worth noting that hotter tourist destinations like Dubai and Abu Dhabi are doing fine.
McKinsey notes that temperatures will rise in Israel more than in other countries and also note that this will not pose major problems to the Israeli economy. I go with that.
McKinsey forgets to mention that there will be summer days which will be excessively hot and will require municipalities to organise special ‘cooling down’ facilities. In addition, the rise in sea heights will require some investment in civil engineering along the coast.
I would add that the biggest investment in Israel will be in building out the electricity grid to allow more renewables and the cost improved drainage as we can expect more extreme storms and flooding.
There I saved you 2 hours of reading. Enjoy the rest of your day.
