This country note features selected environmental indicators from the OECD Core Set, building on harmonised datasets available on OECD Data Explorer. The indicators reflect major environmental issues, including climate, air quality, freshwater resources, waste and the circular economy, and biodiversity. Differences with national data sources can occur due to delays in data treatment and publication, or due to different national definitions and measurement methods. The OECD is working with countries and other international organisations to further improve the indicators and the underlying data. The text of this country profile is drawn from the OECD Environmental Performance Review of Israel 2023.
Environment at a Glance: Israel
Israel is a small, open economy, densely populated and highly urbanised. Economic and population growth are driving increased land, energy and water use and transport demand. Population increased by almost 50% between 2000 and 2021, and since 2005, GDP has been growing much faster than the OECD average, and has only slightly contracted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. GDP per person has been increasing as well, getting closer to the OECD average. The country has a sizeable export-based high-tech sector, specialised in computer hardware and software, medical technologies and pharmaceuticals.
Israel is characterised by desert conditions in the south and snow-capped mountains in the north. The country has a small coastline on the Red Sea in the south. Water scarcity is a major concern, leading Israel to pioneer the development of a range of water-related technologies. Land ownership is mostly public, a unique feature among OECD countries; land is centrally managed and the property market primarily consists of private trading in long-term leases.
Despite its relatively small size, Israel has an exceptionally high degree of biological diversity. It is at the crossroads of the migratory routes of birds and marine species. The country has limited natural resources. These include copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, and manganese. The discovery of off-shore natural gas reserves in the early 2000s has had a major impact on Israel’s fuel mix, moderating its dependence on imported fuels.
Israel’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have increased since 2000, on the back of population and economic growth. Emissions peaked in 2012, followed by a gradual decoupling, due to a less carbon intensive energy mix and energy efficiency improvements, reinforced by a growing share of low energy-intensity/high-GDP activities (e.g. in high tech).
Although per person production-based and demand-based (or footprint) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remain below the OECD averages, they have remained relatively stable during 1996-2020. Demand-based emissions are higher than production-based ones, meaning that Israel is a net importer of GHG emissions embodied in its final demand.
Energy industries account for nearly half of total GHG emissions. Emissions from electricity generation declined between 2012 and 2018 as a result of the fuel switch from coal to natural gas. However, demand for electricity is growing, driven by population growth, the growing electrification of end-uses (e.g. electric vehicles) and the need for desalination of water. The demand has been supported by one of the lowest residential electricity retail rates among OECD countries. Transport is the second and a growing contributor to total GHG emissions, due to a high dependency on private cars, mostly powered by fossil fuels. Emissions from the landfilling of waste make up about 8% of total emissions and have doubled since 2000 (OECD, 2023[1]).
Israel relies almost entirely on fossil fuels for its energy supply; natural gas, followed closely by oil dominate the energy mix. The use of natural gas has expanded substantially on the back of the discovery of large gas fields off Israel’s coast in the early 2000s, which helped moderating the country dependence on imported fuels. Coal is being progressively phased out; the goal is to eliminate it from electricity generation by 2026 (OECD, 2023[1]).
The country’s share of renewables in the energy supply mix and in electricity production is among the smallest in the OECD.
Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulphur dioxides (SO2) have been decoupled from economic growth. This is mainly due to the reduced combustion of coal for electricity generation. Total emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) are not monitored anymore in Israel since 2012. The implementation of the 2015 National Plan for Reducing Air Pollution and Environmental Risks in Haifa Bay, a port area with a high concentration of petrochemical industries, led to a 56% reduction in local industrial emissions of NMVOCs. Still, Haifa Bay remains an air pollution hotspot, especially for such NMVOCs as benzene (OECD, 2023[1]).
Population exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) is declining, but remains one of the highest in OECD countries and exceeds the 2021 guideline value of 5 µ/m3 recommended by the World Health Organization across districts, due to high natural background levels. Road transport is the main source of air pollution in urban population centres while illegal waste burning is a major source in rural areas. Industries are also significant sources of PM2.5 concentrations (OECD, 2023[1]).
Due to its climatic conditions, Israel is under high water stress and water scarcity is a major concern. To provide its rapidly growing economy with sufficient and reliable water and achieve water security, Israel relies on desalinated water and treated wastewater (each representing about a quarter of water use). Israel’s five desalination plants supply over 80% of the country’s domestic urban water (i.e. water not used for irrigation). More than 87% of wastewater effluents are reused, mainly in agriculture. However, freshwater still accounts for about a third of the water used in agriculture, thus maintaining a high pressure on freshwater resources (OECD, 2023[1]).
Water consumption per person is among the lowest in OECD countries, thanks to massive public awareness campaigns emphasising the value of water.
At the 2017 United Nations Oceans Conference, Israel made a voluntary commitment to reduce the direct discharge of wastewater into the sea by the end of 2017 by 80% compared to 2012. Today, about 94% of all wastewater is collected and treated; 87% is reused, primarily for agricultural purposes.
Almost all inhabitants (99%) are connected to a wastewater treatment plant, but only 63% benefit from tertiary (“advanced”) treatment due to delays in the upgrading of Jerusalem’s and Haifa’s large wastewater treatment plants (OECD, 2023[1]).
The amounts of municipal waste generated have steadily increased over the past 20 years. Israel has one of the highest levels of municipal waste generation per person among OECD countries. This is mainly due to the rapid population growth and rising standards of living.
Although municipal waste is increasingly recovered, about 75% were still landfilled in 2023, one of the highest shares in the OECD. This is partly due to the low landfill tax in Israel (OECD, 2023[1]).
Israel’s economy is rather resource-intensive; and both domestic material consumption and the material footprint per person are above the OECD average. Both indicators showed upward trends between 2010 and 2019. Over the same period, Israel’s material productivity decreased, contrary to the average trend observed across OECD countries. This is due to a strong increase in the consumption of non-metallic minerals in the construction sector, and to a smaller extent, rising domestic fossil fuel extraction. This is in turn, explain by the rise in construction activities to respond to the increasing demand for new housing and infrastructure of the rapidly growing population (OECD, 2023[1]).
Material consumption is dominated by non-metallic minerals, the highest share among OECD member countries.
The increasing demand for and development of housing (settlements) and other infrastructure exert growing pressures on open natural landscapes, cause habitat fragmentation and add to land scarcity.
Despite its relatively small size, Israel enjoys extensive biodiversity at a junction of migratory routes between Europe, Asia and Africa. However, the status of indigenous species is preoccupying, especially for amphibians and mammals. The protected species list was updated in 2019; hundreds of species were added; all species on the Red List of Plants are now protected.
In Israel, most land is publicly owned, which facilitates the designation of protected areas. Over the last decade, the country has considerably expanded its terrestrial protected areas, which cover almost a quarter of its land area. This is well above the OECD average and the 2020 Aichi targets (under the Convention on Biological Diversity) to protect at least 17% of land area. Although the country recently established some marine protected areas, their share of the country’s economic exclusive zone (EEZ) remains low. A new protected area was designated in the Palmachim Disturbance of the Mediterranean Sea in September 2022, which more than doubles the size of Israel’s offshore protected areas.
This section shows selected policy instruments based on data available for most OECD countries and does not provide a complete overview of countries’ policy mix to achieve their environment-related objectives. Interpretation should consider the country specific context.
The share of environmentally-related tax revenue in GDP has declined in recent years, like in most OECD countries, but is still above the OECD average, at 2% in 2021. The share in total revenues has increased during 2001-10, but has declined since, and was below 6% in 2022. As in other OECD member countries, energy-related taxes, including taxes on motor fuels, make up the bulk of environment-related taxes, followed by transport taxes; pollution-related taxes play only a minor role. Israel has the second lowest share (after New Zealand) of energy taxes in environmentally related taxes in the OECD, due to both relatively low energy taxes and high vehicle taxes (OECD, 2023[1]).
Israel’s fossil fuel support comprises consumer subsidies through an excise tax exemption on diesel fuel and natural gas producer subsidies. The latter arrangement falls under the agreement between the Israel Electricity Company and the Tamar Gas Field. The excise tax exemption on diesel fuel, introduced in 2005, consists of tax rebates on diesel used in buses, taxis, fishing boats and specialised vehicles such as tractors (OECD, 2023[2]) (OECD, 2023[1]).
In total, 47.9% of GHG emissions in Israel were subject to a positive Net Effective Carbon Rate (ECR) in 2023. Israel does not levy an explicit carbon price. Fuel excise taxes, an implicit form of carbon pricing, cover 65.9% of emissions in 2023. Direct fossil fuel subsidies cover 17.9% of emissions. Net ECR in Israel. About 22% of GHG emissions have a Net ECR above EUR 60 per tonne of CO2 eq., a mid-range estimate of current carbon costs. Net ECRs are highest in the road transport sector, which accounts for 20.5% of the country's total GHG emissions. The Net ECR is zero or negative in the electricity and other GHG emissions sectors. Together, these sectors account for 68.8% of GHG emissions (OECD, 2024[3]).
The share of environmentally-related government R&D budget is very low, below 1%, and has not evolved much since 2000.
With about 20 environmentally-related inventions by residents per person, Israel is close to the OECD average, but their share in total patents is well below the OECD average, and has been declining in recent years.
Israel launched its official international development co-operation programme in 1958 to share the expertise and technologies driving its own rapid development with developing countries. Development co-operation is led and implemented by Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation (MASHAV), a division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Most of Israel’s aid is allocated through government channels to capacity building and humanitarian assistance worldwide. Israel’s total official development assistance (ODA) (USD 324.2 million, preliminary data) decreased in 2024, representing 0.06% of gross national income (GNI). (OECD, 2025[4]).
References
[4] OECD (2025), Development Co-operation Profiles, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/development-co-operation-profiles_04b376d7-en/israel_be801ea8-en.html.
[3] OECD (2024), Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2024: Gearing Up to Bring Emissions Down, OECD Series on Carbon Pricing and Energy Taxation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/b44c74e6-en.
[1] OECD (2023), Environmental Performance Reviews: Israel 2023, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/0175ae95-en.
[2] OECD (2023), OECD Inventory of Support Measures for Fossil Fuels: Country Notes, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/5a3efe65-en.
OECD (2020), OECD Economic Surveys: Israel 2020, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/d6a7d907-en
IEA, “Israel country profile”, https://www.iea.org/countries/israel
MoEP (2021), Israel Environmental Bulletin, Vol. 45, March 2021, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Jerusalem, https://www.gov.il/he/departments/publications/reports/environmental_bulletin
Marin, P. et al. (2017), Water Management in Israel: Key Innovations and Lessons Learned for Water Scarce Countries. World Bank, Washington, DC, http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28097
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