"We have allowed the state to claim a monopoly on the sun"

"The Israeli government has failed to meet all the targets it has set itself in the field of environmental protection as it has set arbitrary and private goals instead of forging a national comprehensive plan that targets a wide scale reduction of greenhouse emissions," said Chen Herzog, Chief Economist and Partner at BDO Consulting during a panel about creating a carbon-free economy at Calcalist’s Cleantech conference.

Herzog said that Israel still hasn't reached its goal of 5% renewable energy electricity production, which was supposed to be achieved by 2016, not to mention the 10% goal which was the target for 2020.

Herzog noted that one of the reasons the renewable energy sector in Israel is growing so slowly is due to erroneous and monopolistic conduct by the state.

"We have created a situation in which the state has a monopoly on the sun. If an entrepreneur wants to set up a solar farm and there is a private company that wants 100% or 50% of its electricity to come from solar energy, which is more than the government's target, the state tells them no," Herzog explained. "If you set up a solar farm, you are only allowed to sell the sun’s energy to the state. In order to set up such a farm you need to get a license and take part in a tender."

Herzog said a greater focus needs to be put on polluting sectors like transport, industry and waste, and not just on the electricity sector. "Two thirds of the expected emissions in Israel over the next decade won't come from electricity and if we don't come up with a policy for these sectors we won't see emissions drop significantly," noted Herzog. "You can't put all your eggs in one basket. Electricity is at the forefront of the national policy and we do have a relative advantage when it comes to solar energy due to our geography, but this can't be the state's only focus. If we only focus on what is easy and simple like solar energy we will not meet the goals we have set ourselves.

"The electric car revolution is underway across the world and Israel should have had an advantage in this sector, but instead it is trailing behind," added Herzog. "Once more this is a situation in which there is no comprehensive policy and there is the danger that the regulators with their addiction to pollution taxes will kill this revolution before it even begins."