EMISSIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES
75,000
EMISSIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES IN ISRAEL (in terms of carbon dioxide)(1)
Thousands of Tons
72,500
70,000
67,500
65,000
62,500
2006
2005
2004
2003
2000
1996
60,000
EMISSIONS OF GREENHOUSE GASES PER CAPITA
IN ISRAEL (in terms of carbon dioxide)(1)
12
10
Nitrous Oxide
Tons
8
Methane
6
Carbon dioxide
4
2
2006
2005
2004
2003
2000
1996
0
)1( An inventory of gas emissions has not been calculated for 1997-1999 and 2001-2002. See
Definitions, Sources and Methods.
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Description of the indicator
This indicator presents the total emissions of the three main greenhouse gases in Israel,
which are an outcome of human activity - carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These
gases have a direct influence on processes of climate change.
Relevance to sustainable development
The purpose of the indicator is to quantify the influence of human activity on the greenhouse
effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural process whereby gases trap heat in the
atmosphere, and thus make human existence on earth possible. Human activity causes a
rise in the concentration of these gases in the air, an increase in the earth’s temperature, and
changes which threaten the stability of the earth’s climate. Since the end of the 19th century,
the amount of carbon dioxide in the world has risen by 30%, and it continues rising at a rate
of 0.4% a year. The average temperature on earth has risen by 0.4 to 0.8 degrees
centigrade, and the level of seawater has risen by 10 to 15 cm. The estimate is that doubling
the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will bring about a rise of up to 4.5
degrees centigrade in the earth’s temperature.
Selected findings

Emissions of carbon dioxide (the main greenhouse gas) in Israel rose from 61 million
tons in 2000 to 65.1 million tons in 2006.

Despite the rise in emissions of carbon dioxide, since 2000 the level of emissions of
greenhouse gases has stabilized in Israel. This stability results mainly from a drop in the
emissions of methane, resulting from activities to collect the methane emitted by solid
waste. Methane emissions have dropped from 9.2 million tons (in carbon dioxide terms)
in 2000, to 6 million tons (in carbon dioxide terms) in 2006.

The per capita level of emissions of greenhouse gases in Israel is among the highest in
the world; in 2006 it stood at 10.4 tons per person.

The per capita emissions of carbon dioxide in 2004 reached 9.5 tons per person in Israel,
compared with 10.7 tons per person in Germany, 9.4 tons per person in Britain and 6.9
tons per person in France.

It should be noted that Israel’s contribution to total emissions at the international level is
very small (less than 0.5% of all international emissions in 2004).
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