Green Economy in Palestine

The global economy is suffering from many crises that have brought it to the brink of collapse. It has faced recurring global financial crises since 2008, as well as fuel and energy crises, water and soil crises, and crises related to depleting resources that are being drained from the surrounding environment without oversight. The environment suffers significant damage due to pollution, global warming, and the increasing carbon emissions in the atmosphere. Furthermore, issues of poverty, global unemployment, and widening inequalities between social classes have exacerbated economic and political crises. All of these are real crises in the global economy that call for a shift towards a green economy, away from traditional economic models.

The green economy is defined as an economic model that aims to achieve sustainable development while protecting the environment. This is done by improving resource efficiency, promoting the use of renewable resources, reducing harmful emissions, and developing technologies and products that support the environment. The green economy focuses on achieving economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social sustainability, while creating new job opportunities in sectors such as renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, green manufacturing, and sustainable transportation, and controlling pollution to improve the quality of air, water, and land. The green economy is considered one of the essential approaches to addressing sustainable environmental problems and achieving sustainable development.

The green economy is essentially an extension and evolution of the concept of sustainable development, which became prominent following the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment, which also established the United Nations Environment Programme. This idea was further developed at the 1992 Rio Conference in Brazil, which emphasized the connection between development and the environment.

For the transition from a traditional economy to a green economy, countries must consider sustainable development, which involves focusing first on social development, followed by environmental development, and ultimately economic development.

In Palestine, there are government efforts to support the green economy and achieve sustainable development. This is done through policies and measures that encourage the efficient use of natural resources and promote the use of renewable resources.

Some of these policies and measures include encouraging investment in renewable energy projects, such as solar and wind energy, promoting sustainable agriculture, managing water resources efficiently, encouraging the use of environmentally friendly transportation methods such as bicycles and electric buses, and developing green building technologies while supporting eco-friendly projects.

The Palestinian government has issued several national plans and strategies aimed at the green economy, such as the National Green and Sustainable Development Plan for 2018-2022 and the National Renewable Energy Strategy for 2016-2020.

The application of the green economy in Palestine requires a comprehensive effort from the government, local communities, companies, institutions, and individuals. Some solutions that can be adopted to implement the green economy in Palestine include:

• Investing in renewable energy: The government can encourage companies to invest in renewable energy projects such as solar and wind energy and provide funding and technical support for these projects.
• Transitioning to sustainable agriculture: The government can support farmers in the optimal use of water and agricultural land, encouraging them to adopt sustainable farming techniques and preserve biodiversity.
• Eco-friendly transportation: The government can encourage the use of eco-friendly transportation methods such as electric buses and bicycles, and provide infrastructure to support these means of transport.
• Green building: The government can encourage green building projects, providing funding and technical support for these projects.
• Promoting environmental awareness: The government can provide education, training, and awareness to local communities about the concept of the green economy, its importance, and how to contribute to its implementation.
• Encouraging innovation: The government can support innovation and development in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and eco-friendly transportation.

Despite all the policies and measures taken towards a green transition, the Palestinian government faces many challenges in implementing them, which hinder the achievement of sustainable development and the green economy. These challenges include the Israeli blockade and its control over all aspects of Palestinian land, the complicity of the international community in not curbing Israeli occupation and its daily attacks on Palestinians, the internal Palestinian division, the lack of a sufficient legal environment to encourage the shift towards a green economy, the continued depletion of natural resources both by the occupation and through unsustainable consumption and production patterns, a shortage of funding for environmental projects that could help promote the green economy, and inadequate infrastructure to implement the green economy. There are currently no clear and effective government policies that support the implementation of the green economy, among many other challenges.

The transition to a green economy in Palestine requires a review of government policies and their redesign to stimulate changes in production, consumption, purchasing, and investment patterns. Implementing the “green economy” in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will increase GDP by hundreds of millions of shekels and save hundreds of millions that are currently spent on addressing health and environmental consequences. Additionally, it involves designing and planning programs and strategies in partnership between the government, the private sector, local and international institutions, and establishing legal and legislative frameworks that encourage the transition to a green economy. It is also essential to address the international community and international financing institutions to support the Palestinian cause and stop the occupation’s crimes, which hinder the achievement of development.