Itongadol/AJN.- Knesset Speaker Edelstein says launch of environmental initiative part of \’irreversible policy\’ led by parliament; project includes installation of solar panels, LED bulbs, water desalination.
As a legislature that passes environmental laws, the Knesset must practice what it preaches, Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein (Likud-Yisrael Beitenu) said Wednesday during the launch of the "Green Knesset" project, which will make the Israeli parliament the greenest in the world.
"Green Knesset," Speaker Edelstein\’s flagship project, is spearheaded by Knesset Members Dov Khenin (Hadash), Zvulun Kalfa (Habayit Hayehudi) and Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz), and it will be implemented under the supervision of Knesset Director-General Ronen Plott.
The multi-year project\’s goal is to convert the Knesset into a legislature that is guided in its conduct by the concept of sustainability (a multi-dimensional and interdisciplinary concept which examines our lives, as a whole, in terms of the environment, society and the economy).
Speaker Edelstein said that while the project required a significant financial investment, "it will bear fruit and return the investment," adding that the "Green Knesset" project constitutes a declaration of an "irreversible policy" led by parliament.
The project will consist of numerous activities, including educating MKs and Knesset employees on the environment and encouraging them to partake in activities related to the environment; publishing position papers on the issue; launching projects that will make the Knesset a more sustainable place; and making the everyday operational activities in the Knesset more sustainable as well.
Environmental Protection Minister Amir Peretz (Hatnua) said during the event: "At a time when my office is leading an environmental revolution in industry and in the residents\’ homes, the symbol of the country must become a leading element in the green revolution, because it is the Knesset\’s duty to protect the next generations, and protecting the environment is the way to do it. Those who want to think far must think green."
Wednesday\’s event marked the beginning of the first phase of the project, which will be implemented throughout 2014 and 2015. This phase will be characterized mainly by 13 ventures focusing on energy and water. Among other things, this phase will include the construction of a 4,500 square meter solar field for the production of electricity from renewable energy; replacing hundreds of bulbs with LED bulbs; replacing the air-conditioning systems with an energy center; automatically shutting down all of the computers at the end of the workday; measuring the amount of water used for irrigation in the Knesset and adopting a more economical water consumption model; the desalination of water from the Knesset\’s air-conditioning systems and using this water for irrigation and other purposes.