Israeli PM to COP26 Conference: ‘Startup Nation’ Is Answer to Climate Crisis

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett addressed the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow on Monday, saying that Israel, already a world leader in high-tech innovation, will harness its tech sector to provide solutions to global warming. “As the country with the most startups per capita in the world, we must channel our efforts to saving the world.” Israel, he said, “can become the climate innovation nation, and we’re ready to pave the way.” The country has begun implementing a 100-step plan to promote clean energy, he told the conference, has set a goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, plans to phase out the use of coal in power plants by 2025, and is already “the world’s number one country in water innovation.” Bennett told reporters aboard the plane on the way to the conference that Israel would set up a fund to match investments by local entrepreneurs in green technology. Israel, he said, could serve as a “sandbox” where newly developed green technologies could easily be tested before being rolled out to other countries.