Statement by PM Benyamin Netanyahu at cabinet meeting on Oct. 25, 2009
(provided by IMRA)
“Last week I announced my intention to initiate a national project to reduce
and – in the end – cancel the global dependence on petroleum. I believe
that Israel constitutes a special center of both minds and hearts, of desire
and ability to advance such initiatives with the assistance of other
governments and of international companies.
We are working on this at the moment, led by National Economic Council
Chairman Prof. Eugene Kandel. We are gathering the best minds in the
country in these fields. We have experts in science, engineering and the
business world. Our possibilities are gigantic because in launching a
meeting between energy, water and agriculture – we could create changes in
energy consumption patterns.
The world is becoming thirstier. There are going to be severe shortages of
water in China. The more that an economy grows and per capita incomes rise,
water consumption increases sharply. Water production requires energy.
Energy accounts for one-third of the costs in producing water. If we can
bring about energy alternatives and connect them with water and do this so
that we also maintain the environment, we would be enacting very great
changes in the global economy, not just here but elsewhere.
We are going to prepare a national framework with which it will be possible
to change the world’s great dependence on petroleum. Of course this would
be very advantageous for Israel. Petroleum finances regimes including those
that translate this into terrorism and instability. Petroleum pollutes the
world and we think that we can act on both of these fronts.”
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